<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You could call this MLB Notebook the L.A. Dodgers Notebook, as it seems they’re the only teams making transactions right now.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The hot stove isn’t scorching just yet, as there has only been one major signing from the free agent market. Let’s start with some non-Dodger news to kick off this MLB Notebook and then get into some Shohei Ohtani stuff. </span></p>
<h2>Spring Breakout:</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For prospect watchers like me, this is awesome. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was announced on Wednesday that the league was introducing a small event in the middle of March where every team’s top prospects will play against another team’s top prospects. This is an attempt to market minor leaguers better.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">All 30 teams&#39; top prospects will go head-to-head in <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a>&#39;s inaugural Spring Breakout showcase in March.</p>
<p>Complete details: <a href="https://t.co/sTtPNnpKlz">https://t.co/sTtPNnpKlz</a> <a href="https://t.co/65IdLbJYY8">pic.twitter.com/65IdLbJYY8</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1735060458644627533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The big question is, who’ll play for the Blue Jays? You’d expect top prospects like Ricky Tiedemann and Orelvis Martinez to participate for the Blue Jays, as well as other upper-minors players such as Spencer Horwitz and Addison Barger. But what about their weaker positions, such as catcher and centre field? Alan Roden enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 and Dasan Brown had a huge season for the High-A Vancouver Canadians. </span></p>
<h2>Shohei Ohtani <i>does </i>have an opt-out:</h2>
<p>More details about the unique contract that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers are starting to come out. We learned about all of the money deferrals on the weekend and it has also been reported that Ohtani can opt out of his contract if certain front office executives are let go from their roles.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ohtani&#39;s opt-out is reportedly tied to the futures of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dodgers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dodgers</a> owner Mark Walter and baseball operations president Andrew Friedman<a href="https://t.co/MoiuFIj54I">https://t.co/MoiuFIj54I</a> <a href="https://t.co/469584DnXq">pic.twitter.com/469584DnXq</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) <a href="https://twitter.com/mlbtraderumors/status/1735091764283806096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s difficult to see either losing their job at any point in the future, as they’ve made the playoffs in each season for a decade now and show no signs of slowing down. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, they do a fantastic job of drafting and aren’t afraid to spend money. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, it hasn’t translated into a tremendous amount of post-season success. The Dodgers&#8217; only World Series Championship during the Friedman era came when they came out on top after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. There&#8217;s an argument to be made that they deserved to win in 2017, as well, though. </span></p>
<h2>Ohtani jersey sales break records:</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While it’s to be seen whether Ohtani lives up to his contract on the field, he’s already living up to it off the field. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Per MLB’s Twitter, Ohtani’s Dodger jersey breaks the Fanatics record for most sales over the first 48 hours for a jersey.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shohei Ohtani breaks Fanatics record for the highest sales within the first 48 hours of a jersey release</p>
<p>He beat jersey drops for Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and others <a href="https://t.co/myijZ7TveN">pic.twitter.com/myijZ7TveN</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1735046576911909295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As you know, Ohtani underwent surgery to repair his UCL for the second time in his career. If he can’t regain his pitching form, the Dodgers are essentially paying him the largest contract in the sport’s history to designate hit.</span></p>
<p>Still, the deferrals in the contract, as well as the revenue that he’ll bring in, will make the contract well worth it.</p>
<h2>Dodgers willing to spend big… again:</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Athletic reported on Wednesday, stating that Yoshinobu Yamamoto met with the Dodgers the previous day. Present at the meeting were Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith (the catcher, not the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), and the newly-signed Ohtani. The Dodgers and Yankees are seen as the co-favourites to land the 25-year-old ace. </span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonHeyman</a> labels the Yankees and Dodgers as &quot;co-favorites&quot; to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto right now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLBNHotStove?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLBNHotStove</a> <a href="https://t.co/EkRsESMCrE">pic.twitter.com/EkRsESMCrE</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1735308620361846790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Los Angeles is looking to spend this off-season, and their biggest need is starting pitching. They’re already in talks with the Tampa Bay Rays about Tyler Glasnow (as well as Manuel Margot), but adding Yamamoto will help push them over the edge. It also helps that the 25-year-old Japanese ace cheered for the Dodgers while growing up.</span></p>
<h2>Former Blue Jay Daniel Hudson inks minor-league deal with Dodgers:</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Per Jeff Passan, the Dodgers are signing Daniel Hudson to a minor league deal and will make $2 million if he makes the team, plus another potential $2 million.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Right-handed reliever Daniel Hudson and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a minor league contract, sources tell ESPN. Hudson, 36, missed most of last season with knee injuries and will earn $2 million if he makes the team, up to $2 million more in performance bonuses.</p>
<p>&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1735035870455922867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 36-year-old only pitched three innings with the Dodgers in 2023, but had a successful 2022 where he had a 2.22 ERA and a 2.04 FIP in 24.1 innings pitched, along with a 30.9 K% and a 5.2 BB%.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hudson had a brief tenure with the Blue Jays in 2019, posting a 3 ERA and a 4.19 FIP in 48 innings pitched, before being traded to the eventual World Series Champions, the Washington Nationals. In fact, he got the final out.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A fun bit of trivia here, as the Nationals sent back right-handed pitcher Kyle Johnston. The 27-year-old was released by the Jays in June and finished his season with the Rockies, where he had a 7.23 ERa and an 8.29 FIP in 18 2/3 innings pitched. He is currently a free agent.</span></p>
<hr />
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.</span></i></p>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">You could call this MLB Notebook the L.A. Dodgers Notebook, as it seems they’re the only teams making transactions right now.</span>



<span style="font-weight: 400;">The hot stove isn’t scorching just yet, as there has only been one major signing from the free agent market. Let’s start with some non-Dodger news to kick off this MLB Notebook and then get into some Shohei Ohtani stuff. </span>
<h2>Spring Breakout:</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">For prospect watchers like me, this is awesome. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was announced on Wednesday that the league was introducing a small event in the middle of March where every team’s top prospects will play against another team’s top prospects. This is an attempt to market minor leaguers better.</span>

https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1735060458644627533

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The big question is, who’ll play for the Blue Jays? You’d expect top prospects like Ricky Tiedemann and Orelvis Martinez to participate for the Blue Jays, as well as other upper-minors players such as Spencer Horwitz and Addison Barger. But what about their weaker positions, such as catcher and centre field? Alan Roden enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 and Dasan Brown had a huge season for the High-A Vancouver Canadians. </span>
<h2>Shohei Ohtani <i>does </i>have an opt-out:</h2>
More details about the unique contract that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers are starting to come out. We learned about all of the money deferrals on the weekend and it has also been reported that Ohtani can opt out of his contract if certain front office executives are let go from their roles.

https://twitter.com/mlbtraderumors/status/1735091764283806096

<span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s difficult to see either losing their job at any point in the future, as they’ve made the playoffs in each season for a decade now and show no signs of slowing down. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, they do a fantastic job of drafting and aren’t afraid to spend money. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, it hasn’t translated into a tremendous amount of post-season success. The Dodgers' only World Series Championship during the Friedman era came when they came out on top after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. There's an argument to be made that they deserved to win in 2017, as well, though. </span>
<h2>Ohtani jersey sales break records:</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">While it’s to be seen whether Ohtani lives up to his contract on the field, he’s already living up to it off the field. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Per MLB’s Twitter, Ohtani’s Dodger jersey breaks the Fanatics record for most sales over the first 48 hours for a jersey.</span>

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1735046576911909295

<span style="font-weight: 400;">As you know, Ohtani underwent surgery to repair his UCL for the second time in his career. If he can’t regain his pitching form, the Dodgers are essentially paying him the largest contract in the sport’s history to designate hit.</span>

Still, the deferrals in the contract, as well as the revenue that he’ll bring in, will make the contract well worth it.
<h2>Dodgers willing to spend big… again:</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Athletic reported on Wednesday, stating that Yoshinobu Yamamoto met with the Dodgers the previous day. Present at the meeting were Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith (the catcher, not the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), and the newly-signed Ohtani. The Dodgers and Yankees are seen as the co-favourites to land the 25-year-old ace. </span>

https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1735308620361846790

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Los Angeles is looking to spend this off-season, and their biggest need is starting pitching. They’re already in talks with the Tampa Bay Rays about Tyler Glasnow (as well as Manuel Margot), but adding Yamamoto will help push them over the edge. It also helps that the 25-year-old Japanese ace cheered for the Dodgers while growing up.</span>
<h2>Former Blue Jay Daniel Hudson inks minor-league deal with Dodgers:</h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Per Jeff Passan, the Dodgers are signing Daniel Hudson to a minor league deal and will make $2 million if he makes the team, plus another potential $2 million.</span>

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1735035870455922867

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The 36-year-old only pitched three innings with the Dodgers in 2023, but had a successful 2022 where he had a 2.22 ERA and a 2.04 FIP in 24.1 innings pitched, along with a 30.9 K% and a 5.2 BB%.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Hudson had a brief tenure with the Blue Jays in 2019, posting a 3 ERA and a 4.19 FIP in 48 innings pitched, before being traded to the eventual World Series Champions, the Washington Nationals. In fact, he got the final out.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">A fun bit of trivia here, as the Nationals sent back right-handed pitcher Kyle Johnston. The 27-year-old was released by the Jays in June and finished his season with the Rockies, where he had a 7.23 ERa and an 8.29 FIP in 18 2/3 innings pitched. He is currently a free agent.</span>

<hr />

<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.</span></i>

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MLB Notebook: League announces top prospects Spring Breakout Showcase, Ohtani contract features opt-out clause, and more

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