The Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani is once again the hottest topic in baseball heading into the All-Star break.
Ohtani will start as the American League’s (AL) designated hitter in the 93rd All-Star Game on June 12 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. He received the most AL votes in the first round of fan voting for the All-Star Game, which concluded on March 23, and bypassed a second round of voting to win the designated hitter award.
He was also named as the AL pitcher on the pitching staffs and reserves for both leagues released by MLB on March 3. While it has not been determined if Ohtani will take the mound in the actual All-Star Game, this is the third consecutive year he has been selected to play in the All-Star Game in a dual role.
Ohtani is on pace for career highs this season. He has turned the corner, leading both leagues in six categories: home runs (31), slugging percentage (.664), OPS (1.054), runs batted in (217), doubles (51), and batting average (0.180). He is also first in bWAR and fWAR (6.7 and 6.1, respectively). It would be a mistake to call him the AL MVP for the first half.
With the non-waiver trade deadline (Aug. 2) just four weeks away, there is a lot of interest in his future. However, the chances of the Angels trading Ohtani are slim.
The Angels are in the fifth AL wild-card spot with a 45-42 record as of April 4, so they can keep their playoff hopes alive. They can’t play fall ball without Ohtani. Angels general manager Perry Minasian recently dismissed the possibility of trading Ohtani, saying, “I don’t think it’s self-explanatory when you look at where we are right now.”
As a result, the most likely scenario is that the Angels let him finish the season and hit the free agent market.
In a related development, a leading local baseball publication has released an anecdote about Ohtani’s free agency.
Baseball America reporter Kyle Glazer recently tweeted, “I was talking to a senior front office official at a major league team recently about Ohtani’s price tag, and when I nonchalantly replied that it was 11 years and $550 million, his response was, ‘You’re too low,'” he wrote.
In other words, the average annual value (AAV) was $50 million, but someone at the top of the organization insisted that he should be paid more.
In April, the LA Times published an article on free agent Ohtani’s contract, noting that “an agent said he expected Ohtani to sign a 12-year, $600 million contract with an AAV of $50 million,” while salary tracker Spotrac reported that “eight years, $230 million as a pitcher and 10 years, $333 million as a hitter, for a total of $563 million, is reasonable.
I doubt any club will be able to match that kind of offer, and I’m sure he’ll be in high demand. Ohtani was born on July 5, 1994. He is 29 years old. Next year will be his 30th season. The risk of injury could increase.온라인바카라
As another source, Sporting News, explains, “An issue that is not often discussed with a special player like Ohtani is the injury risk that comes with a long-term contract. Teams that sign him are taking a huge risk. The size of Ohtani’s contract makes it difficult to get insurance (Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals and Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers are two recent examples), but teams don’t like to think about the worst-case scenario when it comes to injuries. In Ohtani’s case, however, they may have to think about it.
“Ohtani is obviously sitting on a huge cash cow. He’ll continue to make money off the field,” and “where he’ll play after this season will be the most pressing question of the rest of the season.