Most baseball fans can’t wait for the World Series to end to see where Shohei Ohtani will sign. He is the biggest free agent in baseball in a long time, and maybe ever. After a second elbow surgery to repair a torn UCL, he won’t be able to pitch in 2024, but he will still be an offensive force in the middle of the lineup.
Although the Los Angeles Angels hope they will re-sign Ohtani, the likelihood of this happening is slim. Ohtani wants to play for a perennial winner. He hasn’t been to the postseason in his six years with the Angels, and they don’t seem to know how to win.
Many teams can’t afford Ohtani and can’t be perennial winners.
While Ohtani would prefer a West Coast team since it will be closer to Japan, he will listen to every legitimate offer. Most baseball pundits believe the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the front-runners to sign Ohtani. It has been known the Dodgers desired to sign him when he joined the Angels.
Since Ohtani can’t pitch next year, the Dodgers would be getting an expensive DH in year one. However, in the long run, they would be hoping he can return to his top of the rotation ways.
Over at Bleacher Report, Joel Reuter made some predictions for the upcoming offseason, and had Ohtani signing with the Dodgers on an eight-year, incentive-laden contract.
Since no one knows if Ohtani will be able to pitch again at an elite level, having incentives makes sense for LA.
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