Warfarin

I know most people assume you have to spend a lot of money to win, but the Rays (and Guardians for awhile) prove every year that you don't.  A team with a strong analysis and scouting department can circumvent player payroll.  What we need Arte to do, beyond all else, is invest heavily in those areas.  It DOES seem like he is starting to, but that is only a fairly recent development.
We have some good young talent, but obviously need more.  What we CAN'T do, IMO, is start trading our young talent for "win now" type moves.  Keep developing players, see if you can overpay (within reason) for a player or two, and then keep building from within.

I know most people assume you have to spend a lot of money to win, but the Rays (and Guardians for awhile) prove every year that you don't.  A team with a strong analysis and scouting department can circumvent player payroll.  What we need Arte to do, beyond all else, is invest heavily in those areas.  It DOES seem like he is starting to, but that is only a fairly recent development.
We have some good young talent, but obviously need more.  What we CAN'T do, IMO, is start trading our young talent for "win now" type moves.  Keep developing players, see if you can overpay (within reason) for a player or two, and then keep building from within.

I know most people assume you have to spend a lot of money to win, but the Rays (and Guardians for awhile) prove every year that you don't.  A team with a strong analysis and scouting department can circumvent player payroll.  What we need Arte to do, beyond all else, is invest heavily in those areas.  It DOES seem like he is starting to, but that is only a fairly recent development.
We have some good young talent, but obviously need more.  What we CAN'T do, IMO, is start trading our young talent for "win now" type moves.  Keep developing players, see if you can overpay (within reason) for a player or two, and then keep building from within.

I know most people assume you have to spend a lot of money to win, but the Rays (and Guardians for awhile) prove every year that you don't.  A team with a strong analysis and scouting department can circumvent player payroll.  What we need Arte to do, beyond all else, is invest heavily in those areas.  It DOES seem like he is starting to, but that is only a fairly recent development.
We have some good young talent, but obviously need more.  What we CAN'T do, IMO, is start trading our young talent for "win now" type moves.  Keep developing players, see if you can overpay (within reason) for a player or two, and then keep building from within.

I know most people assume you have to spend a lot of money to win, but the Rays (and Guardians for awhile) prove every year that you don't.  A team with a strong analysis and scouting department can circumvent player payroll.  What we need Arte to do, beyond all else, is invest heavily in those areas.  It DOES seem like he is starting to, but that is only a fairly recent development.
We have some good young talent, but obviously need more.  What we CAN'T do, IMO, is start trading our young talent for "win now" type moves.  Keep developing players, see if you can overpay (within reason) for a player or two, and then keep building from within.

Errr, that's interesting.  Mark Walter is 63 years old.  What if he like.. dies suddenly?  Can Ohtani opt out then?  
Seems rather interesting that the people who offered this contract (Walter, Friedman) can include a provision that essentially guarantees them 10 year job security.

I know most people assume you have to spend a lot of money to win, but the Rays (and Guardians for awhile) prove every year that you don't.  A team with a strong analysis and scouting department can circumvent player payroll.  What we need Arte to do, beyond all else, is invest heavily in those areas.  It DOES seem like he is starting to, but that is only a fairly recent development.
We have some good young talent, but obviously need more.  What we CAN'T do, IMO, is start trading our young talent for "win now" type moves.  Keep developing players, see if you can overpay (within reason) for a player or two, and then keep building from within.

Errr, that's interesting.  Mark Walter is 63 years old.  What if he like.. dies suddenly?  Can Ohtani opt out then?  
Seems rather interesting that the people who offered this contract (Walter, Friedman) can include a provision that essentially guarantees them 10 year job security.

I think you are right in that it'll be dragged out.  With Snell, he'll probably wait until after Yamamoto is off the board, since Yamamoto has a distinct timeline, and he'll pit the losers of that battle against each other as the SP market dries up.

@T.G., I hear what you are saying and totally get it from a fan perspecitve.  I have positive memories of those players in the same way for the way they spent their careers here.
In Shohei's case, though, I likewise totally get this move and don't fault him for it either.  Shohei can achieve something that very few ever can - he could, quite possibly, be the greatest player to have ever played this sport.  To do this, though, he needed to go to a team that both maximizes his chances at winning championships AND maximizes his own abilities, to achieve amazing statistical accomplishments for many years.
Sadly, Ohtani's chances of achieving the above, and being remembered as the greatest player to have ever played this sport, are probably less with us than it would have been with the Dodgers or teams in their tier.

I think you are right in that it'll be dragged out.  With Snell, he'll probably wait until after Yamamoto is off the board, since Yamamoto has a distinct timeline, and he'll pit the losers of that battle against each other as the SP market dries up.

@T.G., I hear what you are saying and totally get it from a fan perspecitve.  I have positive memories of those players in the same way for the way they spent their careers here.
In Shohei's case, though, I likewise totally get this move and don't fault him for it either.  Shohei can achieve something that very few ever can - he could, quite possibly, be the greatest player to have ever played this sport.  To do this, though, he needed to go to a team that both maximizes his chances at winning championships AND maximizes his own abilities, to achieve amazing statistical accomplishments for many years.
Sadly, Ohtani's chances of achieving the above, and being remembered as the greatest player to have ever played this sport, are probably less with us than it would have been with the Dodgers or teams in their tier.

We heard it over and over again. Shohei Ohtani wants to win.  No kidding.  Every player wants to win.  Mike Trout wants to win. The difference between Trout and Ohtani is that Trout wants to win as an Angel. Ohtani just wants to win, period.
There’s a difference.
Trout wants to be a part of building a winner.  Ohtani wants to join one.
We also heard over and over again that Ohtani isn’t necessarily about the money.  Well, I see about 700 million reasons to think that isn’t necessarily true.  I’m not judging Ohtani for taking the biggest contract in the history of professional sports.  Heck, no.  More power to him. 
But… in the words of Jered Weaver, “how much do you really need?”
Loyalty. 
Weaver will always be beloved for it.
When Tim Salmon approached free agency for the first time, he told his agent to take the first offer from the Angels.  Salmon was rewarded for his loyalty with a 2002 World Series championship and became the most beloved player in franchise history.
Trout showed his loyalty when he also resigned with the Angels. He could have left.  Most around baseball thought he would.  He didn’t. 
Loyalty.
Salmon, Weaver and Trout’s loyalty isn’t lost on me.  I don’t think it’s lost on most fans.  There’s something special about players who come up through the organization and stay with the organization throughout most, if not all of their career.
Ohtani leaving, makes me appreciate Trout’s loyalty more than ever. 
I have enjoyed every moment of Ohtani’s time with the Angels. I believe he will go down in history as the greatest player of all time.  Losing him is disappointing.
I can now understand what Cardinal fans must have felt like when Albert Pujols left to sign with the Angels.  I understand how disappointed Twins fans must have been to see Torii Hunter leave as well. 
Then again – at least those two guys didn’t leave for a division or cross-time rival.
That’s the thing.  It isn’t so much that Ohtani left the Angels. It’s that he left the Angels for the Dodgers.  The stinking Dodgers.  It’s kind of a slap in the face to Angel fans. The same fans that loved and supported him through his first six years in major league baseball.  The same fans who have lived in the shadow of Dodger fans for years.
It also stings to know he asked not to be traded during this past season because he wanted to try and win with the Angels, only to turn around and head up the 5 freeway to Chavez Ravine when it didn’t work out. 
No loyalty there.
That's also not lost on me. 
Again, the main take away for me isn't so much about Ohtani.  It's about an increased appreciation for Mike Trout and his loyalty to the Angels and their fans.  It's a rare thing this day and age, especially in professional sports.

He is a unique talent, so he'd likely generate revenue regardless of ethnicity, but yes - there is a GIANT market in Japan that Ohtani captures, and that is what in turn leads to a lot of the merchandise/revenue/etc.
The Dodgers are run by a financial corporation, so they likely aren't ones to "overbid" for a player based on emotion in the way that an individual owner would (Arte, Cohen, etc).  This is likely all entirely financially-driven, and they likely will profit significantly off of this deal.

He is a unique talent, so he'd likely generate revenue regardless of ethnicity, but yes - there is a GIANT market in Japan that Ohtani captures, and that is what in turn leads to a lot of the merchandise/revenue/etc.
The Dodgers are run by a financial corporation, so they likely aren't ones to "overbid" for a player based on emotion in the way that an individual owner would (Arte, Cohen, etc).  This is likely all entirely financially-driven, and they likely will profit significantly off of this deal.

With Ohtani gone now, and given the declarations of the FO that they intend to compete and not rebuild - what moves do you make from here to cobble together a decent team?
https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/angels 
Looking at the above, if you assume Arte will spend close to the threshold (no guarantees of that), that would mean we have ~65mil or so to spend in AAV this offseason, which is more than enough to secure a top SP, a top reliever, and some hitters to help mitigate the loss of Ohtani.

For teams, they are likely looking if they can profit from a player's worth, not from their play on the field necessarily.
Will the Dodgers get $700 million of worth from him as a player?  Seems incredibly unlikely, but I'm sure they'll rake in tons of profit from him from a marketing perspective, likely far more than that $700 million, thus making him a worthwhile "investment," so to speak.

Well, yes, but if I paid you 10,000 30 years from now .. that 10,000 will have considerably less buying power than it would if I gave you that money now.  So you are correct in that it's a 70M average, but if most of that is paid 50 years from now, it is obviously worth considerably less than having that 70M today.

Nope.  The AAV will be considerably less if most of his contract is deferred.  I am 100% certain on this.  And that is what most reporters are referencing when they are saying there are contract deferrals with the intent to lesson the luxury tax burden.

I think one of the hardest skills for someone to learn is plate discipline and correct identifying "your pitch" to hit.  Obviously his BB/K rates in college are amazing, and that trend has held serve so far in his very short minor league stay.
Again, if anything else, it's fun to see a youth movement.  Neto looked very solid prior to his injury issues.  Moniak has cooled off considerably but still looks like a very useful role player (strong side of a platoon).  O'Hoppe looked solid in his time here.  Silseth has had his struggles but has made significant progress and looks very good now.
It takes time to build a winning organization, but Perry does seem to be rather good at helping facilitate player development.

Right.  Many are disappointed that they couldn't field a playoff team this year, but this team IS significantly better than it was just a year ago.  Perry is doing a fairly solid job, all things considered, in infusing youth that seems to be playing fairly well.  
IF they can re-sign Ohtani, which is obviously the great big unknown, there is a solid foundation here to make this into a contending team.  I appreciate Perry's style in free agency where he seeks value and aims for players in the Estevez/Drury/Anderson tier.  Not every signing will be successful, but I'd say Perry has had more hits than misses overall, and he seems to be fairly good at building a farm system.

This is sad but likely true.  Moreno has made tons and tons of money owning this team.  I am sure he'd like to win, but his #1 priority is having marketable names on the team and furthering profit.  Trading Ohtani would have gone against the marketing part.  I am guessing Moreno will indeed make a spirited attempt to re-sign Ohtani, but if Ohtani's #1 goal is to win beyond all else and not just going with the top offer, it would be hard to imagine him staying here at this point.  Hate to say that, but it goes without saying there are other large market teams who have a much more consistent track record of making the playoffs that will likely offer something similar to whatever we will offer Ohtani.

Yep.  Already he has essentially plugged up really difficult to fill spots (SS, C) with his draft picks and trades.  
I have referenced it before, but the Braves have had a fairly low farm system ranking for years now, but they have likewise aggressively promoted Strider, Harris, etc.  Minasian seems to take a similar approach as his former boss - promote players rapidly when you feel they are ready.  The byproduct of that is your "system ranking" is poor, but who cares?  If you are promoting young talent that is able to stick to the team, then great, that's success.
Neto, O'Hoppe, Moniak, Silseth - we are seeing guys drafted/traded for, promoted, and becoming solid contributors already.  Joyce and Mederos might soon join that list, given how aggressive the FO has been with their promotions as well.
Ohtani's future obviously will have a huge impact on us, but I think Minasian is a really good GM.  More than half of his signings/trades seemed to have panned out, and his player development process seems really good.  

Yep.  Already he has essentially plugged up really difficult to fill spots (SS, C) with his draft picks and trades.  
I have referenced it before, but the Braves have had a fairly low farm system ranking for years now, but they have likewise aggressively promoted Strider, Harris, etc.  Minasian seems to take a similar approach as his former boss - promote players rapidly when you feel they are ready.  The byproduct of that is your "system ranking" is poor, but who cares?  If you are promoting young talent that is able to stick to the team, then great, that's success.
Neto, O'Hoppe, Moniak, Silseth - we are seeing guys drafted/traded for, promoted, and becoming solid contributors already.  Joyce and Mederos might soon join that list, given how aggressive the FO has been with their promotions as well.
Ohtani's future obviously will have a huge impact on us, but I think Minasian is a really good GM.  More than half of his signings/trades seemed to have panned out, and his player development process seems really good.  

Yep.  Already he has essentially plugged up really difficult to fill spots (SS, C) with his draft picks and trades.  
I have referenced it before, but the Braves have had a fairly low farm system ranking for years now, but they have likewise aggressively promoted Strider, Harris, etc.  Minasian seems to take a similar approach as his former boss - promote players rapidly when you feel they are ready.  The byproduct of that is your "system ranking" is poor, but who cares?  If you are promoting young talent that is able to stick to the team, then great, that's success.
Neto, O'Hoppe, Moniak, Silseth - we are seeing guys drafted/traded for, promoted, and becoming solid contributors already.  Joyce and Mederos might soon join that list, given how aggressive the FO has been with their promotions as well.
Ohtani's future obviously will have a huge impact on us, but I think Minasian is a really good GM.  More than half of his signings/trades seemed to have panned out, and his player development process seems really good.