5 things Shohei Ohtani needs to achieve during his Dodgers tenure to justify historic $700,000,000 deal

Shohei Ohtani has been the main storyline of the MLB this winter and his $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers has rocked the sports world in general.

When you spend this much money on a player, the pressure for them to succeed is enormous. This is the same for Ohtani, who will have the eyes of the world upon him on opening day. With his contract potentially the biggest blunder in MLB history if it doesn't work out, Ohtani will have to hit the ground running to justify his contract.

While this won't justify his deal in the long term, hitting the ground running with the Dodgers will play a big part in setting the tone of his tenure. If he can start with the Dodgers where he left off with the Los Angeles Angels, the pressure will lift significantly.

5 things Shohei Ohtani needs to achieve in Dodgers tenure to justify $700 million contract

#1. Personal milestones

While not necessarily a great measure of team success, if Shohei Ohtani can play to his ability and collect stats and awards, the MLB world will have a hard time criticizing him.

If the three-time All-Star and two-time AL MVP can continue to receive acclaim, Dodgers fans can at least look back on his tenure and appreciate his talent.

#2. Help the Dodgers recruit big stars

This could be integral in determining the future of the Dodgers franchise and is something we have already seen from Shohei Ohtani in his short time with the team.

The Dodgers landed Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a $325 million deal and the consensus was that he wanted to play alongside Ohtani. If Ohtani can continue to bring over talent, LA could gain an edge over the competition.

Looking forward, Roki Sasaki is a future MLB star the Dodgers will be interested in and it will be interesting to see if Ohtani plays a hand in LA attempting to recruit him.

#3. Elite batting

Given his history and stats, Shohei Ohtani won't have to increase his output with the Dodgers, but rather replicate his previous form with the Angels. Ohtani has put up an MLB career batting average of .274 for 171 home runs and 437 RBIs.

#4. Return to pitching

Shohei Ohtani's elbow injury has been an underlying concern with many fans and he will not be able to pitch until 2025. Given his previous Tommy John surgery, these concerns are well founded.

Ohtani's agent and surgeon have both given positive reports on Ohtani's recovery and progress, but everyone will be watching him on the mound with interest. If he is the same pitcher as before, there Dodgers have hit gold, but if he has regressed, this contract will age badly.

#5. Multiple World Series wins

Last and most importantly, Shohei Ohtani will need to win a World Series, and given the size of the contracts being handed out in LA, probably two or three. If the Dodgers fail to capture even one in his tenure, this contract will age very badly, especially when the $68 million-per-year deferred payments begin in 2034.

Ohtani's tenure at the Dodgers will be measured by World Series wins, and the more of them they can record, the better this deal will age.