Which MLB Team Has the Best Shot at Landing Shohei Ohtani?

Los Angeles Dodgers

2017 Starting Rotation Performance: 16.7 fWAR, 3.39 ERA, 3.86 SIERA, 25.2% strikeout rate

Current Rotation (per Roster Resource): Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-jin Ryu

Potential 2018 Impact

It certainly wouldn't feel very fair if Ohtani takes his talents to Hollywood. Sure, the Dodgers didn't win the 2017 World Series, but they were a game away from doing so following a 104-win regular season performance. And as we mentioned right after the Fall Classic, they're set up very well to continue making deep runs into October for the foreseeable future.

This would be an interesting fit because of how Los Angeles handles their starting rotation. One of the things Ohtani will have to adjust to in the states is pitching every five days instead of once a week like he did in Japan. Having to shoulder a workload of 30 to 35 starts a year probably won't happen considering how Los Angeles handles their starters.

Of the hurlers who made 10-plus starts for them in 2017, only Kershaw qualified for the ERA title with 175 innings of work. Brandon McCarthy took the hill 16 times for 86.2 innings, while the other four hurlers listed above all made at least 20 starts but no more than 25. The above names also don't take Scott Kazmir and Julio Urias into account.

So, the Dodgers already have plenty of rotation depth heading into 2018. Landing Ohtani would only add to the top end of that depth, and they've recently showed how they can utilize the 10-day disabled list to manage the workload of their hurlers.

Feasible Long-Term Fit?

If everything works out, Ohtani will eventually sign the monster deal that he's currently bypassing just to make landfall in the majors. And as we all know, the Dodgers -- who have led baseball in total payroll each of the last four seasons -- won't have a problem affording that cost. With Kershaw having the ability to become a free agent next winter via his opt-out, pairing Ohtani and Urias together could potentially give Los Angeles a dominant and very young one-two punch at the top of the rotation with that Kershaw guy, if he sticks around.

The one thing that doesn't add up here? Ohtani appears to be favoring smaller markets, which is reportedly one of the reasons why the New York Yankees didn't make the cut. He'd still be on the west coast and as close to Japan as he can get, but this media market isn't exactly like some of the others on his final list.