We don’t talk about baseball much. That’s fair to say. Regular readers of this blog likely haven’t come here because of our continued coverage of the MLB regular season game-by-game. That being said, even if you don’t follow baseball, the MLB’s free agent of the century is on the market, and I think you should know what’s happening.
Rewind to 2017 for me. Cristiano Ronaldo, the Golden State Warriors, and Despacito. The MLB offseason was dominated by the saga of a particular young Japanese P/DH, a style played by the very best to ever do it, Babe Ruth. Despite nearly signing for the LA Dodgers in 2012 at 18, Ohtani decided to sign for their cross-town rivals, the Angels, on a 5-year deal starting in 2018 and ending in 2023. Would he live up to the hype? Well, 2 MVPs later, it is fair to say that yes, he has.
Back to 2023, and that original contract has expired. Shohei Ohtani is a free agent. The defending MVP of Major League Baseball is now without a team. Imagine, if a player like Nikola Jokic or Erling Haaland was a free agent, and not looking like returning to their previous teams. That’s the level of hype we’re seeing.
Ohtani has been very secretive about the whole ordeal, pretty much saying nothing since winning his second MVP last month. He won’t even reveal the name of his dog seen on the stream where he was awarded the award. GMs have been very hesitant to reveal anything on this saga, and it feels like a decision could come from nowhere. That’s pretty much the reality of the situation.
Who’s going to get him? Right now, the Los Angeles Dodgers are favourites, at -200 as of December 4th to land him. The Toronto Blue Jays are second, at +275, which feels surreal as a Canadian, and the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, and San Francisco Giants are next in line. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani’s most recent team, have the same odds, with the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and San Diego Padres the other teams with any shot at all to land him.
As of right now, this is all we really have on the Ohtani saga. I enourage you to follow this saga. If not, I’ll make an update post when he does announce which team he’ll go to. I’m Jim James, until next time.