A quiet Dodgers offseason spea...

Last season, the Los Angeles Dodgers won 111 games before crashing out of October. They lost their second $300 million shortstop to free agency in two years. They passed on former MVP Cody Bellinger and his anticipated $18 million pay in arbitration. They swiftly re-signed franchise mascot Clayton Kershaw to the latest in a string of one-year contracts.

Then they watched as two of the biggest free agents, both shortstops, inked massive contracts with division rivals the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers' offseason was noticeably quiet throughout.

This winter's high-powered free-agent class, and indeed all activity, is dominated by the stand-alone, two-way superstar. His devotion to the floundering Los Angeles Angels is fading — he will be a free agent after the 2023 season — and the 2021 AL MVP has stressed the importance of winning in rare public statements about his future.

Under the shadow of an impending ownership transition, Angels GM Perry Minasian publicly stated in November that the organization would not pursue a Juan Soto-style Ohtani trade this summer, but the next 365 days might be the greatest and last chance to get Ohtani to your baseball team.

How the Dodgers are setting themselves up for 2023 and beyond

It has not been a totally barren offseason. The Dodgers signed designated hitter J.D. Martinez, starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard and relief pitcher Shelby Miller to one-year deals. They also added outfielder Jason Heyward on a minor-league contract. If it were 2015, this would be a whopper of a haul. For 2023, it’s a very careful — if potentially effective! — effort at filling major-league gaps while keeping their powder dry for 2024 and beyond.

Let’s talk about why future spending plans might tamp down the Dodgers’ payroll in 2023 because it’s not as simple as “OMG OHTANI.” At least, it's not quite that simple.

The current Dodgers ownership group has been at the helm for 10 full seasons and has paid MLB’s competitive balance tax for exceeding at least one payroll threshold in seven of those. The Dodgers have paid each of the past two seasons, carrying baseball’s top payroll both times. As SBNation’s Eric Stephen broke down earlier this month, the Dodgers’ moves (or lack thereof) point not to some philosophical pivot toward austerity (a la the Chaim Bloom Red Sox) but toward a one-year reset.

What the Dodgers are saving for

Despite frustration from their original pursuit of Ohtani when he left Japan, the Dodgers “truly want” the two-way superstar, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. With the designated hitter now universal and rotation flexibility already a staple for the Dodgers, Ohtani looks like a great fit.

Not that the idea of acquiring Ohtani needs much marketing help. Indeed, he would look like a great fit for a lot of teams — an otherworldly talent who could be the default preseason pick for baseball’s best player for the next few years.

Ohtani will turn 29 in the middle of the 2023 season and 30 in the middle of 2024, which would be his first year on his new deal, potentially with his new team. Given what we just saw for stars such as Judge, Turner and Xander Bogaerts, Ohtani could command at least nine years and $400 million if he continues to perform as he did in 2021 and '22. Familiar foes such as the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets also figure to be gearing up for the Ohtani bidding, and apparently we can’t count out A.J. Preller’s San Diego Padres anytime a superstar is available.