The economic restraint the Dodgers have exercised in recent offseasons has tempered any expectations of them landing the kind of superstar who could energize their market.
That could be about to change.
Shohei Ohtani, the 100-mph fastball-throwing, 500-foot-home-run-hitting 23-year-old from Japan, is coming to the major leagues.
From a distance, the Dodgers don’t appear to be the most welcoming of franchises for a player of Ohtani’s caliber. They haven’t signed a player to a nine-figure contract in the three-plus years with Andrew Friedman as their president of baseball operations. They have minimized the value of starting pitching.