When Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) is eligible for Major League Baseball (MLB) free agency, the general consensus is that he will head to the next-door neighbor, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
MLB.com on Monday (Aug. 8) summarized some of the most recent articles that have speculated on Ohtani’s next destination.
“Dodgers president Andrew Friedman is obsessed with Ohtani,” ESPN’s Buster Olney reported, citing a Dodgers source, “and he’s going to bring him to Los Angeles.”
New York Post columnist John Heyman wrote on Twitter that the Dodgers’ decision not to offer a qualifying offer to (free agent) J.D. Martinez was based on their interest in Ohtani.
The Dodgers didn’t hold onto Martinez at the same designated hitter position to make room for Ohtani.
Both Ohtani and Martinez were named to the American League (AL) and National League (NL) All-Star teams at designated hitter this year.
MLBTradeRumors.com, which covers MLB transactions, specifically predicted that Ohtani would sign a 12-year, $528 million deal with the Dodgers. 카지노사이트
“By signing with the Dodgers, Ohtani can play in the postseason and remain in the time zone he’s grown accustomed to over the past six years (without the time zone change),” Fox Sports reporter Disha Tosa explained.
While Ohtani created a sensation by becoming the first player in MLB to play both regulation innings and regulation at-bats, and posting double-digit wins and home runs in back-to-back years, his original team, the Los Angeles Angels, hasn’t made it to fall baseball since 2015.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, are a perennial powerhouse, having made the postseason 11 years in a row since 2013.
Some believe Ohtani will join the World Series champion Texas Rangers in a similar vein.
“Ohtani will shock the world by signing with world champion Texas,” said The Athletic, “Texas will offer Ohtani the biggest contract in sports history, beating out (rivals) the Dodgers and Seattle Mariners.”
Ohtani batted .304 with 44 home runs, 95 RBIs, 20 doubles and a 1.066 OPS this season, while going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts.