Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels), who participated in the last spring camp ahead of free agent (FA), continued to be silent. However, some say that he has already made up his mind.
On the 17th (Korean time), American media such as USA Today and Los Angeles Times said, “Ohtani held a press conference, but did not give any hints about his future.”
On this day, Ohtani had an interview at the Los Angeles Angels’ spring camp located in Tempe, Arizona, USA. Ohtani took questions from reporters for 15 minutes in English and 15 minutes in Japanese.
The biggest issue at the press conference was Ohtani’s future destination. Ohtani, who is in his 6th season in the Major League (MLB) this year, will become a free agent when this year is over. In the U.S., there is even a prospect that he could win a contract worth 500 million dollars (about 642.5 billion won) for the first time in the major leagues.
When asked if he was willing to sign an extended contract with the Angels, Ohtani avoided answering, saying, “That was last year. I don’t know what the situation will be.” He said, “I’m currently with the Angels, and I want to win with this team the most.”
Ohtani, who said he recently met Angels owner Arte Moreno, explained that “we didn’t have a deep conversation”. 안전놀이터
Moreno, the owner of the Angels, withdrew it in January, saying he had stepped out to sell the club. As a result, attention was focused on Ohtani’s future move, which had refused to trade to increase the club’s value. However, no specific details have been released so far.
At this meeting, questions about the long dark period of the Angels also came up. The Angels have failed to advance to the postseason for eight consecutive years since 2014, and have finished fourth in the American League West in four of the five seasons since Ohtani joined. In response, he expressed dissatisfaction in 2021, saying, “The team atmosphere is good, but the desire to win is stronger.”
However, this time he avoided a direct answer. “I’m not one to be asked that kind of question,” Ohtani said. “It would be best to ask General Manager Perry Minassian.” He added, “I believe we all want to win.”
The Los Angeles Times said, “Ohtani showed a defensive attitude to all questions that day, trying to avoid questions rather than answer them,” and “even refused to say how important the World Baseball Classic (WBC) was.”
However, there is speculation that Ohtani has already decided to leave the team. The media claimed, “After saying ‘I want to win’ the year before last, he made no attempt to revise his opinion.” It was speculated that he would part ways with the Angels, as he still remains dissatisfied with the team.