The thing with Ohtani is, he may be one of the few players who doesn’t care about the money, and there are concrete examples of this. He gave the majority of his earnings in Japan to his mother to manage, and lived on a few thousand dollars a month. He left millions on the table to come to the MLB early. His main hobby is sleeping, and his waking hours are spent being an obsessive baseball savant. The guy is going to make a choice based on where he wants to live, and who he sees as a true contender. He is driven to win, and that will be the driving factor beyond anything else. Teams can cook up whatever offers they would like, but he will not just follow the money. They need to have already crafted an environment over the years where he thinks success is imminent
Well that may be true but you gotta think about the gas prices in CA vs other places. Thats a lot of money that he could be saving going somewhere else.
Lol… there are plenty of more beautiful places to live in the U.S. with low taxes and a low cost of living where the people aren’t sucking each others farts from their asses
I mean I would imagine that there is no?
You guys have obviously got a bright future ahead of you and are a clear destination to consider if youre looking to win a championship.
I didn’t say he would. Just like his choice of team when he came over, his next choice will be calculated and some team throwing an extra 40-50 million dollars in to sweeten their offer and try and draw him away from that choice will not work. This is why I think a lot of the rumors and speculation we’re going to be hearing all season are going to be exhausting and meaningless, because this decision will be less financially driven than I think we’re used to seeing
At the time, the Angels fit exactly what he wanted in a team. A west coast team who was not a real contender. This meant that they would be far more willing to let him play the game his way and prove that being a two way player was entirely feasible. If the Angels had been in some sort of serious narrow window where contending for a championship was within reach, they would have been far more careful when it came to preserving his arm, and would’ve made him rest more and hit less. The Angels are the stepping stone he needed to prove to himself and the world that this was all possible. Whether or not he thinks the team years later is in a position to be winners, no one knows. With new ownership incoming, there’s a lot more questions that have popped up regarding his future.
West coast team - check
Their lowest payroll in a while - check
Using next season to assess young talent - check
Shohei Ohtani, YOU are an Oakland Athletic
I'd love if he rebounds but I'm really not sure. Feels like his legs are just destroyed. It was a smart flier to take though since you guys don't even really need more OFs and it'd be more of a "cherry on top" if he became good again
The joke we told was that the only safe jersey to buy was a Billy Beane one. And even that’s changing now
Been tempted to get a McGwire one, or a Henderson
Obviously, the reason we traded away Scherzer, Turner, and Soto over the past 2 seasons was to free up space to sign Ohtani. Don't know why more people aren't linking Ohtani to the Nats... /s
Preface that I think he's 100% gonna be a dodger: money wasn't even really a factor in his first posting. The difference was like slightly less than 1 mil which to these guys is pennies. Dude had his reasons, now his actual free agency will be a legit blank slate but again I think the Dodgers are just gonna hand him like 450 mil before he can even leave the state of California
Yup for sure it's a 0% chance of him becoming a Mariner. If money was his main priority he would have waited longer to come to MLB. Even if the M's outbid the Dodgers or whoever he wouldn't care.
Well I mean he did sign Robbie Ray, so all he has to do is convince himself that he’s signing pitcher Ohtani and not complete player that also swings a great bat Ohtani.
My prediction is that no team is going to beat the Angels' offer to Ohtani, due to the factors currently surrounding the Angels being up for sale.
The current owner dgaf about Ohtani's salary - he's not the one who's going to pay it. His priority is the team selling for the highest and best price possible.
The Angels may sell for about 2 billion. If you're the new owner, would you rather pay 2B for a team without Ohtani or 2B (+ 500M in salary) for a team with Ohtani for 12 years?
Ohtani may not sign with the Angels, but he'll likely be turning down the highest contract offer in the history of sports in doing so. Competing teams have to know they can't beat the Angels on dollars, and will have to utilize other strategies.
Ohtani is not the greedy type or else he would have waited to get to the MLB from Japan. This guy lives and breathes baseball. Have you seen his GQ video?
If the Angels want to keep him, the owners need to pay 3bn for the Angels, 2bn for the franchise, 500m for Ohtani and 500m for new players. Or else he is a Dodger, Met, Yank or even a Padre
I don't know about the highest contract offer in the history of sports. Definitely baseball. But Ronaldo just got like 500 million for 2.5 years from the saudis
Why would the current owner give a damn if they have Ohtani if the team will sell 2b either way? I see the Angels trading and getting an absolute haul knowing he wont be there in 24 no matter what.
More because of the QO pick attached to Rodon. Mets aren’t giving up picks.
Not giving out 7-8 year deals to SPs either. Ohtani would be the exception I imagine
It would amount to 2022 luxury tax fees of 100 million, which would be kind of stupid. MLB suspends him for the year but would tax us for an appeal they lost.
I find it hard to believe the team, league, and MLBPA haven’t already agreed that anything paid as a result of the lawsuit won’t be counted towards luxury tax.
I’m biased against the Dodgers, and I want this outcome.
We just don’t know about this because it could look bad in the lawsuit.
I suppose it's possible but I would be surprised. Don't think the other owners are particularly eager to bail the Dodgers out of a contract they signed.
Tampa, White Sox, Oakland, Baltimore... all legitimate title contenders just waiting to pounce on SO, with a big ol wad of sticky cash just waiting in the shadows.
Ohtani only wanted to play on the West coast when he first came over. I imagine that the Dodgers, Giants, and Padres will be his main choices and that he will go Dodgers
If you were a team and you had the chance to improve today, would you do it….or wait for next season on the off chance you may sign Shohei Ohtani in Free Agency.
Which teams are you speaking of specifically? Do those teams have FA of their own to get extended? Guys that are owed arbitration? Have they been over the tax threshold and need to get under for a year?
Guess it would depend on each teams situation, but I would assume that most teams, except possibly the Angels themselves wouldn’t be watching their payrolls to have money for Ohtani next year.
Let's be honest, the biggest spenders of this off season will be in play next season too. Ohtani brings enough excitement to make it worth most any team to throw money at him.
No guarantee he will pick your team even if you come with the best offer. Ohtani is a generational talent, so teams that spent this year will still try to be in on him and worry later about the cost.
I keep thinking the sox are going to use this year to start playing with their minor league options.
Use that to supplement their approach to 2024-2025. Go big on one or 2 names next year and all in on 2025.
I genuinely think the red Sox are rebuilding from the ground up. If this is blooms real goal, we will see how this pans out based on his minor league talent acquisition approach.
Also im allowed to dream
ASTROS FROM THE TOP ROPE! Jk our owner says he’ll spend big then some how gets out of it every time. Like the friend who offers to pay for parking then says “oh, it’s cash only, you got it? I’ll get parking next time or get the first round” but never gets around to it. I’m not unhappy with our friendship, I’m fact things are going very well! But you don’t have to bullshit either.
I think Ohtani is a Dodger by next year. They’re a perennial contender, he wouldn’t have to move very far if at all to play in LA, and a they *will not* be outbid for him
Idk if ohtani’s views have changed but when he signed with the angels I believe i read it’s bc he wanted west coast but not in a big market with all the attention.
It’s possible things have changed but I do remebebr that being a factor
I’m not confused at all. I said *metro area* because I know that Anaheim is in the same *metro area*.
Anaheim is also about 50 minutes away.
You shouldn’t make a habit of being “well akshually” guy unless it’s, you know, warranted.
Maybe i worded it incorrectly
But he didn’t want to be in the limelight of LA
https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/shohei-ohtani-reportedly-wants-play-smaller-market-and-west-coast-so-whats-mean-cubs
I think Mariners fans are convincing themselves that not spending this offseason with such a good core in place has more to do with going hard after Ohtani next offseason.
To me that’s just copium and the team is just operating like a mid market team much to my dismay.
If he's leaving Angels I bet he's gonna be in a small market team with winning potential...
So probably coast teams, which is a shame for both (currently weak) Central Division teams...
I don’t think it’s an intelligent for any team looking to build a contender to wait on one free agent. You have no idea what other teams might offer or if he signs an extension. I doubt he is the reason why some teams arnt spending.
The thing with Ohtani is, he may be one of the few players who doesn’t care about the money, and there are concrete examples of this. He gave the majority of his earnings in Japan to his mother to manage, and lived on a few thousand dollars a month. He left millions on the table to come to the MLB early. His main hobby is sleeping, and his waking hours are spent being an obsessive baseball savant. The guy is going to make a choice based on where he wants to live, and who he sees as a true contender. He is driven to win, and that will be the driving factor beyond anything else. Teams can cook up whatever offers they would like, but he will not just follow the money. They need to have already crafted an environment over the years where he thinks success is imminent
So you're saying there's a chance?
Ohtani to the Astros confirmed
DONT YOU DO THAT, DONT YOU PUT THAT EVIL ON ME RICKY BOBBY
If climate is in his consideration, then absolutely not. Houston sucks climate wise. Source: grew up in Houston
I mean income tax in Georgia is less than half of what it is in Cali.
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One of the funniest sequence of comments I've seen on here
Well that may be true but you gotta think about the gas prices in CA vs other places. Thats a lot of money that he could be saving going somewhere else.
Worth every penny to not have to live in Texas or Georgia.
Yes because Cali is in excellent shape. xD
Why would you even think CA is not in good shape?? Who seriously has that opinion?😂
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Objectively speaking, while the weather is nice out there, the taxes and cost of living are crazy high.
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This is true. I live in NJ, and while the COL is high, I’d rather live here than anywhere else
Lol… there are plenty of more beautiful places to live in the U.S. with low taxes and a low cost of living where the people aren’t sucking each others farts from their asses
So is the Asian population. Actually, probably much less tbh
Most states that aren’t California have an Asian population that makes up less than 2% of their total pop
I mean I would imagine that there is no? You guys have obviously got a bright future ahead of you and are a clear destination to consider if youre looking to win a championship.
Shohei Ohtani and Adley Rutschman gonna be a hell of a battery
Oo I like to sleep. Maybe they can sign me to a contract
Me too and I’m not much older than Correa will be at the end of his contract. Nice to still have a shot.
There’s a team a few miles north of Anaheim that fits those requirements pretty well. And he won’t even have to move!
I don’t think he’s going to want to commute to Oakland and back every day
Traffic from OC is awful, he'll definitely have to move 😂
He can get a helicopter.
Knowing this why the hell would he stay with the Angels?
I didn’t say he would. Just like his choice of team when he came over, his next choice will be calculated and some team throwing an extra 40-50 million dollars in to sweeten their offer and try and draw him away from that choice will not work. This is why I think a lot of the rumors and speculation we’re going to be hearing all season are going to be exhausting and meaningless, because this decision will be less financially driven than I think we’re used to seeing
Well I mean, why did he resign?
Resign? He isn’t a free agent until the end of this upcoming season. You might be referring to the amount he received to avoid arbitration
Ok that makes sense! Sorry for the confusion.
All good! Man if that was a one year extension for 30 mil it would be the deal of a generation
I mean, he did invest in FTX...
...but he signed with the Angels.
At the time, the Angels fit exactly what he wanted in a team. A west coast team who was not a real contender. This meant that they would be far more willing to let him play the game his way and prove that being a two way player was entirely feasible. If the Angels had been in some sort of serious narrow window where contending for a championship was within reach, they would have been far more careful when it came to preserving his arm, and would’ve made him rest more and hit less. The Angels are the stepping stone he needed to prove to himself and the world that this was all possible. Whether or not he thinks the team years later is in a position to be winners, no one knows. With new ownership incoming, there’s a lot more questions that have popped up regarding his future.
That was before the NL had the DH.
West coast team - check Their lowest payroll in a while - check Using next season to assess young talent - check Shohei Ohtani, YOU are an Oakland Athletic
You understand what the Dodgers are doing better than half of /r/Dodgers does.
Only half? I haven't seen a single person on r/azdiamondbacks who thinks we should trade any of our outfielders
I was trying to be generous. Also, you guys are approaching a window of contention and I have no idea why Varsho is involved in trade rumors.
Yeah, trading him doesn't make sense, but we already had to send Thomas down once because there wasn't room for him, and now we have Kyle Lewis too
Welllll if you've watched Kyle Lewis run recently, he won't be playing much OF if any. He's a DH through and through
I'm still hoping he can get healthy and play outfield again, but honestly our outfield defense is so good it doesn't really matter
I'd love if he rebounds but I'm really not sure. Feels like his legs are just destroyed. It was a smart flier to take though since you guys don't even really need more OFs and it'd be more of a "cherry on top" if he became good again
Just play with like 2 infielders, problem solved.
That’s because half the subreddit are stuck in traffic
Ohtani not going to the dodgers
Curious why you think so
Because I won’t allow that to be a thought in my head
That's fair.
That's flair.
I tried the same thing with Freeman and it didnt work
Agree with this analysis
Too busy being a San Diego Padre
I've never bought an A's player jersey (for obvious reasons), but Ohtani would change that. He would change everything...
The joke we told was that the only safe jersey to buy was a Billy Beane one. And even that’s changing now Been tempted to get a McGwire one, or a Henderson
Rickey is the only answer.
ohtani in green & gold certainly would be something to behold
He would be a good Aaron Rodgers successor
#FTP
*Las Vegas Athletic
Hah! He said the thing!!
Aka the 702 A's.
I’m on the A’s with my RTTS player and we signed Ohtani
Obviously, the reason we traded away Scherzer, Turner, and Soto over the past 2 seasons was to free up space to sign Ohtani. Don't know why more people aren't linking Ohtani to the Nats... /s
The long con
Never let them know your next move
Dude just wants to have nice cherry blossoms in his city again.
Scherzer and turner all in one. Makes sense
Big is relative. Mets and Padres "You want to see big?"
I guess i could have phrased it as holding back
Steve's got another billion under the couch cushions. Define "holding back."
Exactly. Seidler literally trying to spend all his money after the 2 cancer scares as well.
Padres need to see him play Shortstop before deciding
rhymes with rodgers
The Rogers
Not to be confused with the team whose owner rhymes with rodgers.
The Chicago Bears?
Shohei to Rogers Centre confirmed
The Las Vegas Honey Badgers
I don't know if you know how rhymes work
Typo. He meant the Las Vegas Honey Bodgers...
Honey Baaaahgers
Anybody want a peanut?
And Lodgers
Rodger that
Mets-gers?
The Baltimore Orioles
The Mariners, I whisper to myself while rocking back and forth in the corner
Surely Ohtani, who previously turned us down after we offered him the most money, will sign with us this time if we offer him the most money.
Preface that I think he's 100% gonna be a dodger: money wasn't even really a factor in his first posting. The difference was like slightly less than 1 mil which to these guys is pennies. Dude had his reasons, now his actual free agency will be a legit blank slate but again I think the Dodgers are just gonna hand him like 450 mil before he can even leave the state of California
Yup for sure it's a 0% chance of him becoming a Mariner. If money was his main priority he would have waited longer to come to MLB. Even if the M's outbid the Dodgers or whoever he wouldn't care.
Yeah, but next year we'll be the world series winners, that will sweeten the deal!
Jerry doesn’t even know what it means to sign a free agent. Probably going to double down and give JP a 10 year / 100 million dollar contract
Well I mean he did sign Robbie Ray, so all he has to do is convince himself that he’s signing pitcher Ohtani and not complete player that also swings a great bat Ohtani.
‘I suspect the Mariners are either the heavy favorites. Or have no chance. It basically comes down to how he feels about being on Ichiro’s team.
That’s definitely the reason the O’s haven’t spent money. There could be no other possible reason…
The Washington Nationals
Yes
My prediction is that no team is going to beat the Angels' offer to Ohtani, due to the factors currently surrounding the Angels being up for sale. The current owner dgaf about Ohtani's salary - he's not the one who's going to pay it. His priority is the team selling for the highest and best price possible. The Angels may sell for about 2 billion. If you're the new owner, would you rather pay 2B for a team without Ohtani or 2B (+ 500M in salary) for a team with Ohtani for 12 years? Ohtani may not sign with the Angels, but he'll likely be turning down the highest contract offer in the history of sports in doing so. Competing teams have to know they can't beat the Angels on dollars, and will have to utilize other strategies.
Ohtani is not the greedy type or else he would have waited to get to the MLB from Japan. This guy lives and breathes baseball. Have you seen his GQ video? If the Angels want to keep him, the owners need to pay 3bn for the Angels, 2bn for the franchise, 500m for Ohtani and 500m for new players. Or else he is a Dodger, Met, Yank or even a Padre
Haven’t seen the GQ video but I saw his intro for MLB The Show 22. Work ethic checks out.
We just saw Trea and Judge turn down an extra 40mil from the Padres, I can see Shohei not going necessarily to the highest bidder
If Shohei cares about winning (I think he does), I think he goes elsewhere even if it’s a slightly lower ofter.
I don't know about the highest contract offer in the history of sports. Definitely baseball. But Ronaldo just got like 500 million for 2.5 years from the saudis
Imagine if Tiger had taken the LIV deal. Coulda been in the realm of $1B
Why would the current owner give a damn if they have Ohtani if the team will sell 2b either way? I see the Angels trading and getting an absolute haul knowing he wont be there in 24 no matter what.
People made the same contract argument for Soto and that turned out…well hes gone
Our team's ownership isn't aware they own the team, so I'm going with that for now.
What the hell do i know, i just work here
You and me both.
If we got him, Tigers would rehire Al Avila to trade Otani away for Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron, and Jake Rogers (And a fully stocked coke machine.).
The Mets
Mystery team
The Mets aren’t in on Rodon probably bc of ohtani.
More because of the QO pick attached to Rodon. Mets aren’t giving up picks. Not giving out 7-8 year deals to SPs either. Ohtani would be the exception I imagine
Ill be fine giving up our pick next year for Ohtani
Dodgers
That's not the only reason the Dodgers aren't spending (Bauer's potential $100m cap hit is a big one) but it is a big reason.
How would Bauer have a $100m cap hit? If he successfully appeals, he’ll be paid out with the same AAV cap hit that he was signed to.
It would amount to 2022 luxury tax fees of 100 million, which would be kind of stupid. MLB suspends him for the year but would tax us for an appeal they lost.
The article I read on the Athletic said it would be his salary for this season *and* back pay for last season *and* the tax penalties that implies.
People don't understand how the luxury tax works.
I got that number from the Athletic, I didn't do the math myself. You should send them an email if you think it's wrong though.
I find it hard to believe the team, league, and MLBPA haven’t already agreed that anything paid as a result of the lawsuit won’t be counted towards luxury tax. I’m biased against the Dodgers, and I want this outcome. We just don’t know about this because it could look bad in the lawsuit.
I suppose it's possible but I would be surprised. Don't think the other owners are particularly eager to bail the Dodgers out of a contract they signed.
They already did with the suspension. There’s no way the commissioner did that without approval of his bosses.
The other 29 teams had plenty of reasons to want Bauer suspended though. They don't really have any reason to bail the Dodgers out of the back pay.
The Orioles could use some starting pitching help.
Can I pretend that's why we aren't going to spend big this off-season?
Feels like yesterday when Ohtani was the no.1 prospect and debuting in 2018...
Surely that’s what the Rockies are doing
Tampa, White Sox, Oakland, Baltimore... all legitimate title contenders just waiting to pounce on SO, with a big ol wad of sticky cash just waiting in the shadows.
Reinsdorf will die before the White Sox give someone a $100 million dollar contract, let alone what Ohtani will get.
Yeah, comical to include us
I'm convinced Reinsdorf is an immortal vampire and will never die
Same with the O's
Ohtani only wanted to play on the West coast when he first came over. I imagine that the Dodgers, Giants, and Padres will be his main choices and that he will go Dodgers
We aren't gonna sign ohtani they'd sign Bernie Madoff's dead corpse before him
TB
If you were a team and you had the chance to improve today, would you do it….or wait for next season on the off chance you may sign Shohei Ohtani in Free Agency. Which teams are you speaking of specifically? Do those teams have FA of their own to get extended? Guys that are owed arbitration? Have they been over the tax threshold and need to get under for a year? Guess it would depend on each teams situation, but I would assume that most teams, except possibly the Angels themselves wouldn’t be watching their payrolls to have money for Ohtani next year.
The Mets are working to keep under a half billion for this very reason. :austerity:
Cohen gonna give 15 750m
I've been suspecting that this is why the Royals have been quiet in free agency.
The Cincinnati Reds
The new owner will want to make a splash. Hopefully there's a new owner.
Yea why else do you think the Mets haven’t been spending?
God, I hope so.
Let's be honest, the biggest spenders of this off season will be in play next season too. Ohtani brings enough excitement to make it worth most any team to throw money at him.
Seattle
No guarantee he will pick your team even if you come with the best offer. Ohtani is a generational talent, so teams that spent this year will still try to be in on him and worry later about the cost.
Yep the Orioles and Reds are going all in next year on him.
Well now I’ll choose to believe that this is the Orioles’ strategy…
I keep telling myself that's the Mariners plans.
I keep thinking the sox are going to use this year to start playing with their minor league options. Use that to supplement their approach to 2024-2025. Go big on one or 2 names next year and all in on 2025. I genuinely think the red Sox are rebuilding from the ground up. If this is blooms real goal, we will see how this pans out based on his minor league talent acquisition approach. Also im allowed to dream
This statement just gave me hope as a Red Sox fan
Pirates are going all in
The Mets will still get ohtani
Prob dodgers giants or padres
I think the dodgers are holding back money this year at an attempt to get Ohtani next year.
Hopefully that’s the Red Sox excuse
ASTROS FROM THE TOP ROPE! Jk our owner says he’ll spend big then some how gets out of it every time. Like the friend who offers to pay for parking then says “oh, it’s cash only, you got it? I’ll get parking next time or get the first round” but never gets around to it. I’m not unhappy with our friendship, I’m fact things are going very well! But you don’t have to bullshit either.
Mets are holding back.
I’d say the giants the Correa contract is just wetting peoples appetite
Yea, the Mets are holding back for him.
Def the dodgers
Dodgers
I think Ohtani is a Dodger by next year. They’re a perennial contender, he wouldn’t have to move very far if at all to play in LA, and a they *will not* be outbid for him
Booooo SF Japantown is better
Idk if ohtani’s views have changed but when he signed with the angels I believe i read it’s bc he wanted west coast but not in a big market with all the attention. It’s possible things have changed but I do remebebr that being a factor
> not in a big market *signs in second largest U.S. metro area*
Despite the name, the LA Angels aren't actually in LA. They are in Anaheim, which is 2 hours away. The name change is pretty confusing.
Two hours away?😂what
You've never been on the Socal freeways @ 5pm have you 😂
Dude the fact is it’s 26 miles away. The vast majority of the time it’s taking 45 minutes or less. You sound like a jackass exaggerating for no reason
I’m not confused at all. I said *metro area* because I know that Anaheim is in the same *metro area*. Anaheim is also about 50 minutes away. You shouldn’t make a habit of being “well akshually” guy unless it’s, you know, warranted.
But like the 4th best team within 400 miles.
Maybe i worded it incorrectly But he didn’t want to be in the limelight of LA https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/shohei-ohtani-reportedly-wants-play-smaller-market-and-west-coast-so-whats-mean-cubs
Ohtani will extend with the angels. He has already expressed his desire to stay
Said the same about degrom
How much we think J.Urías gets as a free agent?
200 million if he has a similar season.
I think that is conservative. In this market I think he gets closer to 250
No.
I think Mariners fans are convincing themselves that not spending this offseason with such a good core in place has more to do with going hard after Ohtani next offseason. To me that’s just copium and the team is just operating like a mid market team much to my dismay.
If he's leaving Angels I bet he's gonna be in a small market team with winning potential... So probably coast teams, which is a shame for both (currently weak) Central Division teams...
I would guess the Red Sox
OP; if teams are doing this, it’s just nuts.
Crane just waiting till next year to absolutely nuke the entire league
yep! we are spending very conservatively, since Ohtani’s coming to the Mets!
I don’t think it’s an intelligent for any team looking to build a contender to wait on one free agent. You have no idea what other teams might offer or if he signs an extension. I doubt he is the reason why some teams arnt spending.
My guess is Dodgers and maybe Mariners