MLB Rumors: Angels Denied Shohei Ohtani's $700M Contract Format; Giants, Jays Agreed | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to sign free agent superstar Shohei Ohtani on a 10-year, $700 million deal with $680 million deferred from 2034-2043.

However, Ohtani's old team, the Los Angeles Angels, was not interested in that structure, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan, who noted that other teams agreed to the format.

"The structure triggered a quick approval from the Dodgers. Unbeknownst to them, Balelo then proposed the same deal to at least three other teams. The San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays agreed to the terms. The Angels, Ohtani's original major league team, were also given a chance, but sources said they ultimately declined."

Ohtani will receive $2 million per season from 2024-2033 before making $68 million annually from 2034-2043.

The Angels rejecting the structure offered proposed to them by Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, seemed like a moot point anyway.

Ohtani made it clear this season that he wants to win:

SNY @SNYtv

"It sucks to lose. He wants to win, so it gets stronger every year."<br><br>Shohei Ohtani, through his translator, on how important being on a winning team is to him: <a href="">

Simply put, the Angels haven't done that in quite some time. They haven't posted a winning season since 2015, made the playoffs since 2014 or won a postseason contest since 2009. That's despite having one of the game's unquestioned best talents in Mike Trout full time since 2012 and another superstar in Ohtani since 2018.

It was hard seeing a path for the Angels to compete in the near-term future even with Ohtani, who reiterated his desire to win and why he wanted this contract structure to begin with at his introductory press conference with the Dodgers.

"I figured if I defer as much money as I can, that's going to help the CBT (collective bargaining tax) and it's going to help the Dodgers be able to sign better players and make a better team," Ohtani said per longtime translator Ippei Mizuhara (h/t Bob Nightengale of USA Today).

Ohtani loved the Angels, who were "special to Shohei" as Belalo noted. The agent also said Anaheim was "a place that he really loved to play. He loved the people there, everything. The Angels had every opportunity."

Ultimately, it appears a desire to win plus the contract structure were big factors in Ohtani leaving the Angels for the Dodgers, and now he begins a new chapter with a team that's won 100 or more games in four of the past five full MLB seasons.