There is still a year left before free agency, but interest in the destination of Ohtani Shohei (29, LA Angels) is already hot.
On the 10th (Korean time), CBS Sports of the United States predicted ‘four leading candidates to recruit Ohtani’.
The media presupposed that “Ohtani will become a free agent next winter. The Angels have two options: trade him at the highest value by the trade deadline or compete in the postseason with him.”
At the same time, he mentioned ‘big market’ teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants as teams that could recruit Ohtani.
The Dodgers were the most likely team. CBS Sports explained, “The Dodgers have been eyeing Ohtani since he was an amateur,” and “a team with the financial strength to compete with other teams.”
Before becoming a free agent, the possibility of recruiting through a trade was high. The media predicted, “As it did with Muki Betts earlier, it is possible to extend the contract after acquiring Ohtani before the trade deadline.”
Previously, the Dodgers acquired through a trade with the Boston Red Sox in 2020, the final free agent season of MVP outfielder Betts. Immediately after the acquisition, the Dodgers tied up Betts with a 12-year, $365 million (approximately 453.7 billion won) large contract.
The team that CBS Sports mentioned after the Dodgers is the Mets. The Mets are showing their desire to win the World Series by pouring in huge amounts of capital since Steve Cohen, the richest owner, took office.
The media explained, “The Mets have Cohen owner. He is indifferent to financial constraints or luxury taxes.” 메이저놀이터
“Even Cohen ranks below the Dodgers at this point because given the amount of money he’s going to spend on Ohtani, there could be limits,” he added. It is an observation that the Dodgers can be relatively advantageous because the total team annual salary has already increased significantly.
The third candidate is San Francisco. San Francisco attempted to recruit large free agents such as Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) and Carlos Correa in this offseason, but all of them went to nothing.
The media said, “San Francisco, which lost the jersey and couldn’t finish the deal with Correa, can invest a big amount after next season.”
The last candidate is the current team, the Angels. The media predicted that the Angels, currently in the process of taking over the club, could try to leave Ohtani with the new owner.