When Shohei Ohtani announced his decision to sign with the Dodgers on Saturday, it further shifted the balance of a division that Los Angeles has already won in 10 of the past 11 seasons.

The Dodgers now boast the trio of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Ohtani atop their lineup. Once he returns from Tommy John surgery, Ohtani could also give the Dodgers an ace pitcher under team control through 2033.

On the surface, that’s all bad news for the Diamondbacks. Despite their run to the World Series, they finished 16 games behind the Dodgers in 2023 — a gap that now looks even wider. And, of course, they’ll have to face Ohtani 13 times a year for the next decade.

But the Diamondbacks are not viewing it that way — at least not publicly.

“This is one of the most competitive, toughest divisions in baseball,” General Manager Mike Hazen said. “We’re happy to compete in it. I think it makes us better, frankly, that we have a division that for 162 days we get pushed. I think it helped us in playoffs this year that you get beat up in this division quite a bit and then you walk into the playoffs and you’re kind of used to it.”

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Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick echoed Hazen’s sentiment.

“I think it's good for us that we get to compete against (Ohtani),” Kendrick said. “Last I looked, he's one of nine. And the last I also looked, he's a designated hitter. He's a great player. Is he the second coming? I would suggest not. Would you like to have a player of that talent on your team? Of course, everyone would. And we'll have fun competing against them.”

Kendrick also pushed back on the perception that Ohtani’s contract structure represents a significant financial boon for the Dodgers.

Although $680 million of Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract is deferred, the Dodgers have to set aside $46 million per year beginning in 2026 — as the Los Angeles Times reported while Kendrick was meeting with reporters in Phoenix.

“The one element that seems to missing here is there's the theme that all of this money — the $68 million per year that's going to be moved out, the Dodgers are going to have that money to spend,” Kendrick said. “But they won't. And that's not being reported. That money has to be sequestered in an account and held on behalf of the player.”

As for the Diamondbacks’ ability to contend with the Ohtani-led Dodgers, Kendrick seemed unbothered.

“We'll have fun competing against them,” Kendrick said. “We already did have fun competing against them, at least the last time we played.”

—Theo Mackie

Kendrick: DBacks ‘more likely’ to stay than leave Chase Field

Stressing that nothing was final in the club’s search for resolution in its ballpark situation, Kendrick said the organization appeared likely to remain at Chase Field, the only home it has known in its 26 years of existence.

“I'd say that's the more likely event, but it isn't a final decision,” Kendrick said.

The Diamondbacks have been searching for help from local entities in renovating the facility and creating a mixed-use space around it that would include the possibility for residential, retail and even a hotel.

Though a number of other clubs throughout baseball have managed to secure funding to update their aging parks, the Diamondbacks have been unable to reach an agreement with city, county or state leaders.

Kendrick said the team has “flexibility” in its lease that would allow it to leave Chase Field for another site. One thing he did rule out was leaving Arizona for another state, saying that scenario “ain’t gonna happen,” in part because he does not want to be “ridden out of town on a rail, and with tars and feathers, which is probably what would happen.”

—Nick Piecoro

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The latest on the DBacks’ TV situation

Though the Diamondbacks took a financial hit with the demise of Bally Sports Arizona, Kendrick suggested the club would get back on solid footing with a new broadcast deal for next season.

“We’ll have a very viable regional television deal going into next year,” Kendrick said. “We're still looking at exactly how we're going to do it.”

Presumably, the Diamondbacks won’t find a deal as lucrative as the one Diamond Sports Group, which owned Bally Sports Arizona, defaulted on earlier this year. The Diamondbacks were believed to be receiving more than $60 million a year in that agreement.

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Kendrick, who called the team a “free agent,” said one possibility is a “hybrid” model in which some of its games find a home on an over-the-air network.

“We have our options and we’re going to try to, one, make sure that our fans get to see our games and, two, that the economics are as viable for us as they can be,” he said. “This whole landscape of television is a moving target with the video streaming, direct-to-consumer element emerging. Ten years from now, we will all be consuming media probably in ways that we haven't been in the recent years and even in the present. So time will tell how that will all play out.”

—Nick Piecoro

Diamondbacks’ payroll set for record high

The Diamondbacks will be setting a new payroll record when play begins next season, Kendrick said.

“I'm not going to tell you what it will be, but it will be the highest payroll that we've ever had and as Mike (Hazen) alluded to -- he's more careful with his words than I am -- we have more to do. And he's been given the authority to go make the team better than it is as we sit here today.”

After signing left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to a four-year, $80 million deal, the Diamondbacks’ payroll is projected by FanGraphs to be around $127 million, though the club’s internal numbers put them closer to the mid-130s.

The Diamondbacks pushed their payroll into the range of $140 million in 2018.

—Nick Piecoro

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks’ Ken Kendrick talks Ohtani, Chase Field future, payroll