“The Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and San Francisco Giants feel like the favourites to land Ohtani.”
The general consensus is that the Los Angeles Dodgers are the team that will pay Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels) the astronomical sum of $600 million or $700 million in free agency in 2023-2024. The Athletic reinforced that analysis on the 22nd.
On that day, The Athletic hosted a question-and-answer session with Cubs fans. He predicted that the Cubs would be in the mix for Ohtani. However, “the Cubs will fall short in the end,” and “the Dodgers, Mariners, and Giants feel like the favourites to win, in that order.”
Shohei Ohtani/Getty Images Korea
스포츠토토 In the end, the Dodgers’ strongest competition is Seattle. It’s the West, but it’s not traditional payroll California. San Francisco, which continues to be analysed as capable of unleashing a surprising offensive onslaught and is even rumoured to be pursuing a simultaneous deal for Jung-Hoo Lee (Kiwoom), is third.
“The New York teams will definitely be mentioned for leverage,” said The Athletic. The Cubs, of course, will be mentioned.” The Mets’ position in free agency this winter is uncertain at this point. The Yankees have been surprisingly quiet. In any case, it seems to be true that teams outside of Ohtani’s favourite region are basically at a disadvantage to the Dodgers.
Shohei Ohtani/Getty Images Korea
What’s surprising is that The Athletic didn’t mention Ohtani’s original club, the Angels, even once. With the Angels looking increasingly unlikely to make the postseason, it’s safe to assume they won’t be able to hold onto Ohtani. They didn’t even mention the Cubs, Mets, or any of the other third-place teams.
So what should the Cubs do this winter? The most important thing is to sign Cody Bellinger, who has completely rebounded this year. Bellinger signed a one-year, $25 million deal with the Cubs this year. However, there is speculation that a confident Bellinger will opt out of the 1+1 and declare free agency. The Athletic believes Brandon Nimmo, who signed an eight-year, $162 million deal in December, will be the benchmark.
Ohtani./Getty Images Korea