The Chicago Cubs have the money to sign Shohei Ohtani, 29, and the Seattle Mariners can feel comfortable with Ohtani not being a first-year pitcher.”
“The Major League Baseball offseason and Shohei Ohtani’s free agency has officially begun,” said Fox Sports in the U.S. on Sept. 9. “Ohtani is one of the most attractive free agents in not only baseball history, but sports history.”
Ohtani is one of the most attractive free agents this offseason. Ohtani began his major league career as a two-hitter. In his rookie season, he went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and batted .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs in 114 games, earning Rookie of the Year honors. 토토사이트
It wasn’t until 2021 that Ohtani made his major league debut. After being sidelined with Tommy John surgery in 2019, Ohtani resumed his two-hitting duties in 2021 and had a season that fulfilled his potential.
In 23 starts on the mound, he went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA, and at the plate, he hit .257 with 46 home runs and 100 RBIs in 158 games. It was his best season since entering the majors. He hit more home runs and drove in more RBIs than any other player in his major league career. That season, Ohtani was unanimously named the American League (AL) MVP.
Since then, Ohtani has been consistently good. In 2022, he won 15 games and posted a 2.33 ERA, tied for fourth in wins and tied for fourth in ERA. This season, Ohtani has also excelled at the plate. With 44 home runs, he led the AL in home runs and won his first major league home run title.
However, the team’s performance held him back. Despite his stellar performance, Ohtani has never played fall ball. The Angels hovered in the bottom half of the AL West. Eventually, Ohtani said, “Losing sucks,” and became a free agent.
While the Angels did receive a qualifying offer (QO), most expect Ohtani to decline. They expect his price tag to be in excess of $500 million, and that he will fly the coop with a team that can win a championship and play fall ball.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the most likely of those teams. The Dodgers won the National League (NL) West this season, but suffered an early exit from the postseason. The Dodgers are looking to add Ohtani to their roster in order to make a run at the World Series next season. And they can afford to pay his price.
Fox Sports baseball analyst Ben Verlander said, “The Los Angeles Dodgers make the most sense. Ohtani is very comfortable in Southern California. He’s going to go to a team that is actually consistent enough to make the postseason every year and win 100 games in the regular season.”
However, Verlander also mentioned the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners as possible destinations. ”The Cubs could play a major role in signing Ohtani,” he said, “They have the money to make a move for him and unfortunately missed the postseason,” Fox Sports reported.
The Cubs finished second in the NL Central this season with 83 wins, but missed the postseason by finishing fourth in the wild-card standings, one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona went on to the World Series, so one more win for the Cubs could have changed the entire playoff picture.
“Seattle is another team that has been linked to Ohtani for a long time,” says Verlander. The Dodgers and Cubs would likely need to acquire another pitcher if they were to sign Ohtani, but Seattle just needs offense, so not having Ohtani pitch the first year of his contract would have no impact.”
In fact, aside from left-hander Tommy Milone, Seattle has no starting pitchers on the free agent market this offseason. The bullpen will lose Dominic Leone and Drew Steckenreider, but it’s not in need of major reinforcements, so the team seems to think that adding Ohtani and bolstering the offense will be enough to make the postseason. Seattle also missed out on fall baseball by one game.