The Sports Report: Shohei Ohtani is a free agent. Here’s why the Dodgers must sign him
Howdy, I’m your host, Austin Knoblauch, filling in for Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
From Dylan Hernández: Two years after they let Corey Seager walk, the Dodgers finally have to replace him.
They have to find their own Bryce Harper. They have to land another Yordan Alvarez and not trade him this time for an ineffective middle reliever.
The Dodgers have to sign Shohei Ohtani.
The World Series is over, and the Offseason of Ohtani is here. Ohtani, 29, is officially a free agent.
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If the Dodgers want to be the same force in October as they are in the regular season, they’ll have to do more than adopt a new roster-building philosophy that places a greater emphasis on starting pitching. Ohtani is recovering from his second Tommy John operation and won’t be able to pitch next season, but he can also lead another transformation that is desperately required. He can cure them of the disease that causes them to choke practically every year.
Ohtani was made for the big stage. He’s no Mookie Betts.
This isn’t just about talent, of which Ohtani has more than anyone in baseball. This is also about mental and spiritual fortitude.
“[Ohtani] performing at this level, when there’s so much focus on one person … only the mentally strong are able to do that,” former Angels manager Phil Nevin told reporters this season.
Ohtani performs when he knows everyone is watching. He performs when everyone expects him to.
That’s what he did in the World Baseball Classic, both as a pitcher and hitter.
No country takes the tournament as seriously as his home country of Japan. No player, perhaps no person, is as famous as he is there.
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Shohei Ohtani is officially a free agent. Seven things to know as the sweepstakes begins
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CLIPPERS
From Andrew Greif: James Harden arrived home in Los Angeles this week not only as a former NBA most valuable player and league leader in scoring and assists but as a 34-year-old guard on his fourth team in three years, in the final year of his contract, yet to win a championship.
It is why Harden feels motivated to prove “everything” with the Clippers as part of a core playing alongside likely fellow future Hall of Famers Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Harden wants to show “I’m very elite as an individual and then I can fit in with anybody and make a championship run work,” he said Thursday, in his first comments since being traded. “So I think all of us are on the same page in the sense of the individual stats and all those things are past us and we all got one goal and I think everybody knows what that is.”
Three days after Philadelphia and the Clippers agreed to terms, Harden played in a scrimmage against coaches and some of the team’s younger players Thursday at the team’s Playa Vista practice facility. He is expected to debut Monday against New York at Madison Square Garden.
It was an introduction four months in the making. When Harden opted into the final year of his contract worth $35 million in June, he did so while making clear he wanted to be traded to the Clippers because of its established core of Leonard, George and Westbrook and its location near his family in Southern California.
LAKERS
From Dylan Hernández: His back on the Crypto.com Arena floor, Austin Reaves looked up toward the rafters and exhaled.
“... finally,” he said.
He’d just made a floater to bestow the Lakers a lead they’d hold until the end of the overtime period. Fouled on the play by Norman Powell, he was about to complete a three-point play.
The 130-125 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday marked a reprieve for Reaves, who has started this season with a debilitating shooting slump. He scored six points late in the third quarter, seven more in overtime and finished with a season-high 15.
“You go through stretches like this, you have to fight your way out,” Reaves said. “That’s what I’m doing.”
The Lakers are counting on it.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers and third baseman Max Muncy agreed to a two-year, $24-million contract extension that will keep the veteran slugger with the club through 2025, the team announced Thursday.
The deal also includes a $10-million club option for 2026, as well as performance bonuses in 2025 and 2026, according to a person with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly.
The move effectively replaces the $14-million club option for next season that was in Muncy’s previous contract. With the new deal, the 33-year-old will make $12 million in each of the next two seasons, shaving a little money off the Dodgers’ annual payroll while giving Muncy the security of a multi-year deal.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Green Bay Packers locker room was not a happy place after a defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2019 season’s NFC Championship game.
Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach at the time, so he paid a visit to older brother Matt, the Packers’ head coach.
“He’s damn near in tears because he feels so bad for me,” Matt said Thursday during a video conference with Los Angeles area reporters. “I’m like, ‘Dude.’... That’s just kind of the relationship we have.
“We’re as close as any two brothers, especially in this league, could be. I’m always pulling for him. I’m always trying to help him — except for when we play each other.”
On Sunday at Lambeau Field, the LaFleurs will be on opposite sidelines for the seventh time.
CHARGERS
From Jeff Miller: He had just left Minnesota’s defense in shambles, catching 18 passes for 215 yards on a day when he also threw for a touchdown.
No player in NFL history had produced such a performance, and now Keenan Allen was walking through a concrete hallway deep inside U.S. Bank Stadium to meet with the media.
Along the way, a member of the Chargers’ public-relations staff was briefing Allen on all the other records he had set, a few of them stunning while others were more, well, obscure.
“You know,” Allen said, interrupting, “some of these sound made up.”
Indeed, chronicling sports achievement these days can become a little convoluted, with so many feats being framed as historic, if not once-in-forever.
But, to add to his genuinely memorable afternoon against the Vikings in September, Allen is on the verge of hitting an undeniably impressive, round and gigantic number.
HORSE RACING
From John Cherwa: Seeing Bob Baffert in the winner’s circle after a Breeders’ Cup race is nothing unusual. In fact, it’s happened 18 times.
And seeing Baffert wander around Santa Anita’s Clocker’s Corner in the morning, stopping for photos, chatting up old friends and people he just met for the first time, it seemed to energize the 70-year-old trainer.
The Breeders’ Cup, especially at Santa Anita, and its participants are a tonic for the soul, he says.
“A horse is the best distraction if you are down, if you are depressed,” Baffert said. “A lot of people have horses and it just gets you away from the real issues in life. And they bring you so much joy. They are the best therapy.”
There’s also a lot of money involved, around $31 million to be doled out over Friday and Saturday. The first day there are five races, all restricted to 2-year-olds. On Saturday, there are nine more races.
KINGS
From the Associated Press: Anze Kopitar scored midway through the second period to help the Kings build a three-goal lead and hold on for a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
Carl Grundstrom and Phillip Danault also scored and Adrian Kempe had two assists for the Kings, who have won the first two games on their four-game trip and improved to 6-2-2 on the season. Cam Talbot, who spent last season in Ottawa, had 24 saves against his former team. The Kings improved to 5-0-0 on the road.
“That was a good game from our side tonight,” Kempe said. “Obviously they came back at the end and it was tighter than we wanted it to be. But I think we’ve had some games this year where it’s been a one-goal game at the end of the second period and I think we’ve been doing a really good job of that.
“Every line is managing the puck really well.”
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1899 — Jim Jeffries beats Sailor Tom Sharkey to retain the world heavyweight title after referee George Siler stops the fight in the 25th round at the Greater New York Athletic Club.
1934 — Lou Gehrig wins the American League Triple Crown after hitting .363 with 49 HR, and 165 RBIs. Philadelphia catcher Mickey Cochrane named AL MVP.
1942 — Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams wins the American League Triple Crown (.356 average, 36 HRS, 137 RBI) but Yankees pitcher Joe Gordon is AL MVP.
1968 — Jim Turner of New York kicks six field goals to lead the Jets to a 25-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
1973 — Roosevelt Leaks rushes for 342 yards to lead Texas to a 42-14 victory over Southern Methodist.
1973 — Jay Miller sets an NCAA record with 22 catches for 263 yards as Brigham Young beats New Mexico 56-21.
1973 — Stan Mikita of Chicago scores his 1,000th NHL point with an assist in a 5-4 loss to Minnesota.
1987 — New York Rangers’ center Marcel Dione becomes the 2nd NHL player to score 1,700 career points.
1989 — Lou Piniella is named manager of the Cincinnati Reds, replacing Pete Rose who is banned for life for gambling on MLB games.
1990 — David Klingler tosses seven TD passes, offsetting the NCAA record of 690 passing yards by Texas Christian substitute quarterback Matt Vogler, to lead Houston to a 56-35 victory.
1990 — Atlanta Hawks’ center Moses Malone sets an NBA record for free throws made in a career by hitting 7-of-9 in a 121-120 win over Indiana Pacers at the Omni; passes Oscar Robinson’s record (7,694).
1995 — The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies open their first NBA season with victories. The Raptors beat New Jersey 94-79 and the Grizzlies beat Portland 92-80.
1996 — Jerry Rice becomes the first player with 1,000 career NFL receptions in San Francisco’s 24-17 victory over New Orleans.
1996 — Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant becomes the then youngest player to make his NBA debut (18 years, 2 months, 11 days) in 91-85 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Great Western Forum.
1996 — Philadelphia kicker Gary Anderson becomes the fourth player in NFL history to crack the 1,500 point mark with his first-quarter extra-point kick in a 31-21 win over Dallas.
2001 — Arkansas beats Mississippi 58-56 in seven overtimes in the longest major college football game in history. The Razorbacks stop the Rebels’ 2-point conversion try in the seventh overtime for the win. After ending regulation tied at 17, the teams score touchdowns in every extra period but the second.
2007 — Navy snaps an NCAA-record 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a 46-44 victory in triple overtime. It’s the first time Navy beat Notre Dame since a 35-14 win in 1963 when Roger Staubach was quarterback for the Midshipmen.
2007 — Al Arbour makes a one-night return to the bench and the New York Islanders rallies from a two-goal deficit to beat Pittsburgh 3-2. Arbour was behind the bench for the Islanders’ four Stanley Cup championships in the 1980s and was invited back to coach the team for the 1,500th time. He earns win No. 740.
2007 — Todd Reesing throws a school-record six touchdown passes as No. 8 Kansas batters Nebraska 76-39. The Jayhawks score touchdowns on 10 straight possessions and rolled up the most points ever scored against Nebraska in 117 years of Huskers’ football.
2012 — Kenjon Barner rushes for a school-record 321 yards and five touchdowns and No. 2 Oregon produces another landmark offensive performance in a 62-51 victory over No. 18 Southern California. Oregon’s 730 yards and 62 points are the most ever allowed by USC, which began playing football in 1888.
2012 — Brooklyn makes a winning return to major pro sports, with the Nets topping the Toronto Raptors 107-100 in the first regular-season NBA game at Barclays Center.
2013 — Nick Foles ties an NFL mark with seven touchdown passes and throws for 406 yards to revitalize the Philadelphia Eagles in a 49-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
2016 — Harvard University suspends its men’s soccer team for the rest of the season over sexual comments made about members of the women’s soccer team. The soccer team, currently ranked first in the Ivy League, forfeits its remaining games of the season.
Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama put on a show in the Spurs’ 132-121 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, finishing with 38 points and 10 rebounds. Check out highlights of his big game here.
Until next time...
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Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
