Major League Baseball

Shohei Ohtani has signed. What’s next for Blue Jays, Angels, Giants and other teams?

Updated Dec. 9, 2023 9:57 p.m. ET

The dust has settled. The speculation is over. Shohei Ohtani, the most impactful, most revolutionary baseball player in the history of the sport, is officially a Los Angeles Dodger. The $700 million contract will completely reshape the entire sport, with the Dodgers immediately becoming the most relevant franchise in Major League Baseball. It's like the scene in a superhero movie when the bad guy, already a menacing force, further evolves into a level of incomprehensible strength.

But what does it mean for the losers; for those who had their hearts and strategies set on landing the two-way behemoth? There are surely Google Docs titled "plan B" that must now, unfortunately for those involved, be opened and shared. Losing out Ohtani is far from a death sentence; the Angels just spent six seasons showing how a 10-WAR player doesn't guarantee you a playoff spot. Even the presence of another perennial MVP candidate didn't do that.

Still, for the clubs who were seriously in the mix until the end, Friday was a day of disappointment. And those disappointed clubs, the Angels, Cubs, Giants and Blue Jays, all of whom were reportedly finalists on Ohtani, must wake up on Saturday morning and endure. Life, and baseball, moves forward and waits for no one. Winter doesn't even officially start for another two weeks, there is ample time to recover, recuperate and revamp, if you're willing to spend.

Angels

It's hard to feel bad for Anaheim. They won the Ohtani sweepstakes the first time around, and it hardly cost them a dime. And with that stroke of fortune they accomplished nothing. A series of unfortunate events — some in their control, some not — means Shohei will finish his six-year run in Orange County without a single season above .500.

That's an embarrassment, a disaster, a sad end to what could have been a triumph. Trout and Ohtani, two of the greatest players ever, stampeding through their respective peaks, taking the league by storm. What could have been.

And unlike the Dodgers, who have a formidable roster without Ohtani, the Angels have no clear path forward. They're the only team that actually has to replace Ohtani, a particularly difficult task when you remember that he pitches like a Cy Young candidate and hits like an MVP. That's two players.

Yes, the Angels still have Trout, but the three-time MVP is coming off another injury-plagued season in which he played only 82 games. When healthy, Trout remains a force, but the thick-necked New Jerseyan turned 32 in August, which means his best days are in the rear-view mirror.

All indications are that GM Perry Minasian, whose contract expires at the end of 2024, will still try to craft a contending roster. They do have some dough to spend, with the payroll sans-Ohtani $58 million below the 2023 number. And despite a disastrous August that dive-bombed them out of contention, the Angels did have a handful of bright spots. Logan O'Hoppe looks like a franchise catcher, the multi-positional Brandon Drury was also a solid bat and rookies Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel showed glimpses.

But the sum is more mediocre than impactful. Angels ranked in the bottom half in Wins Above Average at every single position in 2023 except for center field. Nobody who started a game on the mound last year had a FIP over 4.00 and now Ohtani is gone. The farm system is in the league's bottom five. A slew of shrewd free agents additions alone — Yuli Gurrel Jr. and Michael Wacha would be savvy fits — cannot save them. After six years in the spotlight, the Angels without Ohtani, are once again completely irrelevant.

Why did Shohei Ohtani sign with Dodgers? Ben Verlander weighs in

Blue Jays

So much smoke, but never fire. The Jays were hot and heavy on Ohtani, reportedly meeting with him at their spring-training complex in Florida during the winter meetings. On Friday, reports broke from various outlets that Ohtani was on his way to Toronto, but that was not the case. The Jays were likely unwilling to match such an enormous dollar figure, such is life.

But by little fault of their own, the Blue Jays organization now faces an extremely riled up and disappointed fan base. For chunks of Friday afternoon, Jays fans genuinely believed Ohtani to Toronto was a done deal, or close to it (they should commiserate with Giants fans who thought they were getting Judge last winter). Coupled with their six-game postseason losing streak, that's going to create quite a bit of frustration up north.

Toronto's rotation is really good, so even in a deep starting-pitching market, it's fair to expect the Jays to focus on bolstering their lineup and bullpen. If we're talking relievers, Josh Hader would be a fun addition to lock down the later innings alongside 2023 closer Jordan Romano, but chances are the offense is the primary focus for president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro, GM Ross Atkins and the rest of the front office.

The Jays have substantial holes at DH, left field and, depending on how much you believe in 2023 breakout surprise Davis Schneider, second base. Cavan Biggio looks set to replace Matt Chapman at third, which could also be considered an area for improvement; Biggio works best as a super-utility guy.

So what are the paths forward?

Toronto could always bring Chapman back in free agency, the stellar defender reportedly enjoyed his time up north and offers defensive reliability and offensive upside. Unfortunately, there are precious few second baseman of note available in free agency; Minnesota's Jorge Polanco is a cheeky trade candidate though. Thankfully there are a ton of corner outfielders for Toronto's choosing, including former Jay Teoscar Hernandez.

Whatever direction they pick, it had better be bold or a lot of Canadian ball fans are going to spend the rest of the winter fuming up a storm.

[Mintz: Shohei Ohtani’s flight to nowhere: A timeline of the weirdest day of the MLB offseason]

Giants

The search for a superstar carries on. Another winter, another enormous swing and a miss on the market's biggest free agent. Last December, California kid Aaron Judge used the Giants as leverage to squeeze a ninth year and the captaincy out of the Yankees. Then Carlos Correa came hours away from commemorating a lengthy pact with the club before a spotty medical on the shortstop's ankle scuttled the whole deal. And now, despite an on-site visit with Ohtani earlier this month, the Giants are left out in the cold and the fog once again.

The Giants have proved themselves very adept at squeezing the most of a suboptimal roster over the last few seasons under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. But all that cute and precious tinkering only does so much. Quite simply, the Giants have lacked outstanding baseball players. Ohtani would have filled that void.

The most obvious pivot is Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who would be following in the footsteps of Masanori Murakami, the first ever Japanese-born major leaguer. The 25-year-old hurler would be joining an already sturdy rotation led by 2023 NL Cy Young runner-up Logan Webb and promising flamethrowing lefty Kyle Harrison.

But the offense, which just ranked 27th in slugging, is what really needs refurbishing. San Francisco's Judge pivot last year failed miserably as both Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto failed to make a significant impact. There is no way to replace the potential impact Ohtani would have brought, but Cody Bellinger and Korean 25-year-old Jung-Hoo Lee would be significant upgrades in center field. Otherwise, the Giants will have to wait for next winter to find the superstar they've been looking for when Juan Soto hits the market.

What does Shohei Ohtani's signing mean for the Dodgers?

Cubs

During the Winter Meetings, USA Today's Bob Nightengale indicated that the Cubs were growing pessimistic about their chances to sign Ohtani. President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer vehemently denied that report, telling reporters "I don't know where that came from. There's nothing to report whatsoever." That appeared to lead to a dust up between Hoyer and Nightengale at the Opryland in Nashville.

High drama aside, the outcome is the same: Ohtani is not a Cub.

Fortunately for Hoyer, the offensive holes on his roster match up nicely with some of the deeper free-agent areas. Rhys Hoskins, Justin Turner and Brandon Belt could fill the void at first base. Matt Chapman and Turner are options to upgrade over Nick Madrigal and Patrick Wisdom at third. JD Martinez, Jorge Soler and Mitch Garver are all DH types that would push Christopher Morel to the outfield and bolster the middle of the order. There's also enough room in the payroll to add an arm like Yamamoto or Jordan Montgomery.

Mariners

We're tossing the Mariners — who were not really considered a finalist — on here as a treat. Seattle has been fairly criticized for slicing payroll this offseason after missing the playoffs by a hair, so a pivot to Ohtani was always unlikely. Still, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is dealing with a ticked-off fan base, some of whom maintained the Ohtani pipe dream against all evidence to the contrary. Simply, the Mariners need to spend to improve their team.

Jake Mintz, the louder half of @CespedesBBQ is a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He played college baseball, poorly at first, then very well, very briefly. Jake lives in New York City where he coaches Little League and rides his bike, sometimes at the same time. Follow him on Twitter at @Jake_Mintz.