“That airplane day, we had no freaking idea" - Stan Kasten reveals being on the edge as Shohei Ohtani's Blue Jays rumors gripped MLB

Stan Kasten has had a very busy winter as the president and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, largely due to Shohei Ohtani. The franchise has had a historically big offseason, headlined by the additions of Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez.

LA's payroll is estimated at $310 million in 2024 and they are expected to make a huge push at the World Series. Anything less than reaching the big game will be seen as a disappointment due to the talent throughout the team and the money being spent.

A lot of these expectations stem from the signing of former Los Angeles Angels phenomenon, Shohei Ohtani, whose $700 million deal garnered international attention.

With the Toronto Blue Jays being reported to being so close to landing Ohtani, even the Dodgers' front office feared he would sign elsewhere. Speaking to USA TODAY Sports, Stan Kasten discussed Ohtani's free agency and the crazy sequence of events that led to him signing with the franchise:

“That airplane day, we had no freaking idea. We were watching the airplane reports. I’m looking at the tweets and everything else. The agent is reassuring us that no decision has been made. But it’s not the first time I heard something from an agent that was not true.

"But in this case, everything was completely truthful. Nez [Balelo] was straight with us from the start.

“So on that day, we’re thinking we have a 50-50 shot. Then it’s 75-25. Then it’s 25-75. It’s 21%, it’s 14%, we were all over the map with every new tweet."

As it turns out, Kasten only found out that Ohtani was Dodgers-bound moments before the rest of the world:

“We didn’t get a heads-up until a minute beforehand when Nez called Andrew. Andrew called me 10 seconds later. So, I only knew 50 seconds before the rest of the world knew."

Dodgers' Stan Kasten knows Shohei Ohtani and a high payroll doesn't guarantee success

Los Angeles Dodgers Introduce Shohei Ohtani

Given the talent already on board, the Dodgers' winter additions have pushed them to a new level, presuming, of course, the team gels in time for the 2024 season.

Stan Kasten discussed the burden of expectations, knowing from experience that high payrolls don't guarantee success:

“High payrolls bring high expectations.

“People have to understand, we are still in the Dodgers," Kasten said. “The Dodger franchise is unique and historic, and we hoped to have a historic season. High payrolls are no guarantee of success. We all know that. We’ve had high payrolls before and didn’t win, just like a lot of teams.

“Now, we’ll get a chance to see just how it all works out."

With Spring Training fast approaching, LA will be looking forward to seeing their new-look roster in action and unlocking its potential. Given the media attention the franchise will receive this season, a lot rests on how well Shohei Ohtani adapts to life with his new team.