Baseball-Two-way Japanese star Ohtani agrees to join Dodgers

"I have decided to choose the Dodgers as my next team," Ohtani wrote on Instagram. Ohtani thanked the Angels fans and organization for six years that he said would be "etched in my heart forever". "And to all Dodgers fans, I pledge to always do what’s best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself.

Japanese dual-threat superstar Shohei Ohtani, the most coveted Major League Baseball (MLB) free agent in recent memory, has agreed to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, he said on Saturday.

Terms of the deal for Ohtani, a marketing bonanza who spent the first six years of his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels, were not disclosed but it was reportedly the largest in baseball history, worth more than $700 million over 10 years. "I have decided to choose the Dodgers as my next team," Ohtani wrote on Instagram.

Ohtani thanked the Angels fans and organization for six years that he said would be "etched in my heart forever". "And to all Dodgers fans, I pledge to always do what’s best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself. Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world."

The Dodgers had been favoured to emerge as the winners of the Ohtani sweepstakes following a courtship which came down to a handful of teams that reportedly included the Angels, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)