Now that Shohei Ohtani is on his way to Major League Baseball, the Seattle Mariners are expected to make a strong play to sign him.

In a new team sponsored podcast, Jerry Dipoto discussed the Japanese star.

"We have spent most of the past year preparing for this moment. Whether it's written presentations, something aesthetic for him to touch and feel ... we've put together a film on the merits of Seattle and the Mariners. And we're hopeful at some point we get to sit down in the same room," Dipoto said.

"The history of the Japanese player in Seattle has been so celebrated and some of the greatest players in our franchise's history have been from Japan. There is an attraction there. There has to be, for a player who is as respectful of those who came before him as Shohei Ohtani appears to be. 

"That is a positive in our favor, especially since all those players have been willing to assist us in the recruiting process, among others. We're not joking around. We're bringing the big guns. We're bringing the 'A' game. When we sit down, we'll be sitting down with very notable faces and that is a part of what we want to sell.

"We want to sell the Seattle experience and what it means to the Japanese-Americans, our culture and how this organization has trended so positively when we have the star Japanese player. And make no mistake, this is a star Japanese player. He's gifted. He's going to make some team a lot better."