“Why does Dekopin look sad?” - Shohei Ohtani's MVP award celebration takes a pawsitively hilarious turn with his furry sidekick's sarcastic expression

Shohei Ohtani received his AL MVP on Saturday in New York at the Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner. The Japanese superstar is ready to embark on a new chapter with the Los Angeles Dodgers and this was a fantastic way to end his time with the Los Angeles Angels, whom he thanked in his speech.

Ohtani's dog, Dekopin, has been with him on his journey to becoming the highest-paid athlete in sports but didn't look thrilled in photos taken on Saturday. FOX Sports' Ben Verlander shared a photo on X, to which fans responded quickly.

“Why does Dekopin look sad?”

Many touched upon Shohei Ohtani's free agency decision, suggesting Dekopin was an Angels fan, or wanted Ohtani to sign elsewhere:

One such team mentioned was the New York Mets.

Others, however, didn't seem so sure about the recent coverage of Ohtani's dog.

Shohei Ohtani and the LA Dodgers will be the team to watch in 2024

After signing Shohei Ohtani to a $700 million deal, the Dodgers followed it up by landing Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a $325 million contract. They also traded for Tyler Glasnow and extended him to a $136.5 million deal. With Teoscar Hernandez also on board for 2024, and set to earn $23.5 million, the Dodgers are spending a lot of money, much of it deferred to a later date.

Given their additions and the quality already on their roster, LA is expected to make a World Series push in 2024 and anything short of the big game will be seen as a disappointment.

It will be interesting to see if these new additions can gel with the talent already in LA, and whether the Dodgers can hit the ground running in 2024. With Spring Training approaching, all eyes will be on Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers and up first are the San Diego Padres on Feb. 22.

With the roster needing to build chemistry before Opening Day, Spring Training will likely be a very serious matter in LA this season.