Shohei Ohtani spurns Angels, signs shocking record-breaking deal with the Dodgers

The Los Angeles Angels were one of a select group of teams with their fingers crossed that they'd be the ones to sign Shohei Ohtani to the largest contract in the history of American team sports. It turns out that after a day full of flight tracking and false rumors, Ohtani has signed a monster deal to join the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers were always the favorites to land Ohtani considering their location and roster. Ohtani gets to stay in Los Angeles while playing on a perennial contender. It really doesn't get much better than that.

Ohtani joins a Dodgers team loaded with talent. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman headline the position player group, and the Dodgers happen to have one of the farm systems with solid pitching as well. They make the postseason every year, but fail to come through when it matters most. The Ohtani addition should help them at least get closer to getting over the hump.

Shohei Ohtani signs with the Dodgers, time for the LA Angels to react swiftly

The Ohtani sweepstakes have come to an end. It's a crushing blow for an Angels team that failed to put together a winning season WITH Ohtani aboard. How the Angels can possibly find a way to be competitive now that they're without the best player in the game is a question they're going to have to try and answer quickly.

The Angels will now turn their attention to the free agency market where they suddenly have mounds of unspent money to splurge on multiple players. The Angels can address their pitching by inking Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, or even Jordan Montgomery to a massive deal. They can also address their lineup by going after players like Cody Bellinger J.D. Martinez, or Jorge Soler.

It's on Arte Moreno and Perry Minasian to pick a direction. They must either heavily pursue and sign multiple big-name free agents as they try and remain competitive, or seriously contemplate a rebuild. No matter what the decision is, the Angels must react as quickly as possible before the market weakens, which is expected to happen quickly after this move is officially announced.