Shohei Ohtani hits a homerun during an away game. (Photo Courtesy ESPN)
The 2023 Major League Baseball season begins on March 30th, 2023. In this year's off-season, several star players have joined new teams, such as Xander Bogaerts on the San Diego Padres, Trea Turner on the Philadelphia Phillies, Jacob DeGrom on the Texas Rangers, Justin Verlander on the New York Mets, and Carlos Rodon of the New York Yankees.
Regarding free agency, the biggest free agent on the market was the American League's Most Valuable Player, New York Yankees Aaron Judge who re-signed for nine years’ worth 360 million dollars. Along with this offseason, former Yankees shortstop and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter will be a host on Fox for MLB games this season along with Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez, and Red Sox’s Hall of Famer David Ortiz.
However, the biggest story throughout the 2023 season and in December during the winter meetings is the bid for Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani has been recognized as the Babe Ruth of baseball with his hitting and pitching talent and is due to become the richest Major League Baseball Player of all time. In 2021, Ohtani was named American League's Most Valuable Player, becoming the first Japanese player to do so since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. In five seasons in the major league, Ohtani has hit 127 home runs, 342 RBIs, 441 career strikeouts, 2.96 era in sixty-three games pitched, and has won Rookie of the year.
Ohtani is respected around Major League Baseball, with fans and players alike amazed by his talent and love for the game. People from Japan fly to America to see him play along with Japanese outlets covering him. Going into his sixth season, Ohtani has never played playoff baseball in October, leading fans and league executives to question if Ohtani is a regular season player or a playoff player.
In Ohtani’s case, it is not his problem. The Los Angeles Angels, the team Ohtani plays for, is in talks of being sold. Since Ohtani has been with the team, three managers have been fired, and his teammate Mike Trout has had an injury each season since Ohtani has been on the team. Ohtani will be making 30 million dollars this season which is the most money an arbitration player has made in MLB history.
If Ohtani does not sign an extension before opening day, and during the season, MLB executives believe the Angels will trade Ohtani to a team that will give the Angels back a lot of prospective players. Teams that may make a bid on Ohtani during free agency are the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees.
In the 2021-2022 offseason, the Dodgers let Corey Seager and Trea Turner walk in free agency to sign with different teams. The Dodgers are currently not over the luxury tax, which the MLB has set at 230 million dollars. There looks to be a current game plan for the Dodgers to make a pitch at Ohtani.
For the New York Mets, the Mets spent 476.1 million dollars in the 2022 offseason on pitching and extending their hitters on their team. The Mets for the 2023 season have a 364-million-dollar payroll this season, the highest in MLB history. The Mets are in a win-now mode to the point they will pay or trade anyone to reach the top, having not won a World Series since 1986 to where their fans want every superstar player on the radar. As for Ohtani, the Mets will be in the mix to go after him, but the question for the Mets on if they get Ohtani is how they will be able to pay the large amount of the luxury tax every season, how they will be able to resign their leader and 1st baseman Pete Alonso and will Ohtani get used to the hitting lineup and pitching rotation on the team.
Another team potentially in the mix for Ohtani is the San Diego Padres. The Padres will do everything in their power to get a star player to play for their team. However, the question looming over them is if their current star player Juan Soto will remain a Padre or leave in free agency in 2024. If Ohtani became a Padre, he would fit perfectly in their lineup and their pitching rotation.
A small market team that should go all in on Ohtani is the Seattle Mariners. Since the Seattle Mariners have had a history of drafting and signing Japanese players, Ohtani would be a terrific fit for the Mariners because he would play for a younger team that is on the come up right now regarding their hard work and toughness. Ohtani would play alongside Julio Rodriguez, Luis Castrillo, and Mitch Haniger. The Mariners' last superstar player they signed in free agency was in 2013 when they signed Robinson Cano. The management in the Mariners organization would have to go all in for Ohtani, knowing the cost will be very high.
The last team that could pursue Ohtani is the New York Yankees. Besides the 27 rings the Yankees show, they have landed many Japanese players who have played in pinstripes such as Hideki Matsui, Masahiro Tanaka, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hiroki Kuroda. New York City has a major impact on market value, and Ohtani’s jersey sales would skyrocket higher than ever before if he became a Yankee. Ohtani would play along with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, and Nestor Cortes, making the Yankees hitting and pitching rotation feared by adding Ohtani.
For Ohtani, the goal for him going into the 2023 season is to win a championship. However, the eyes on getting there are far away, and the 2023 offseason will be interesting to see where he will play and which team in baseball will sign him.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcomed. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Dylan Hicks dhicks@student.dean.edu or Dean was Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
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