Shohei Ohtani has decided to sign with the Angels, agent Nez Balelo of CAA Baseball announced today. Balelo issued the following statement on his client’s decision:
“This morning, after a thorough, detailed process, Shohei Ohtani has decided to sign with the Los Angeles Angels. Shohei is humbled and flattered by all the time and effort that so many teams put into their presentations and sincerely thanks them for their professionalism. In the end, he felt a strong connection with the Angels and believes they can best help him reach his goals in Major League Baseball.
I want to thank the clubs and everyone else for respecting our intent to make this very important process as private as possible. We were resolved to having a fair, methodical process. Teams clearly put in a lot of work, and we are grateful for that. The past few weeks also further demonstrated Shohei’s incredible thoughtfulness, attention to detail and determination to make an informed decision. He read every page of every presentation and listened to every word in each meeting, and he was so impressed that it was not an easy choice. While there has been much speculation about what would drive Shohei’s decision, what mattered to him most wasn’t market size, time zone or league but that he felt a true bond with the Angels. He sees this as the best environment to develop and reach the next level and attain his career goals. More than ever, I believe this is not only a special talent but a man of special character, and like everyone else I’m excited to see him in Major League Baseball.”
The Angels were one of seven finalists for Ohtani, joined in that regard by the Mariners, Rangers, Cubs, Padres, Dodgers and Giants. At various points in recent days, there’s been speculation about the perceived favorites to secure his rights, but few pegged the Halos as any sort of favorite to acquire his services.
The Angels can offer a signing bonus of $2.315MM, which is about $1MM less than the Rangers or Mariners could’ve offered but $2MM greater than what any of the NL clubs were able to pay. They’ll also be on the hook for a $20MM posting fee that will go to Ohtani’s former team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Because of his age, the 23-year-old Ohtani is considered an amateur under Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, meaning that his actual contract will be a straight minor league deal that comes with a league-minimum salary of $545K in the Majors. Like any other player, he’ll be eligible for arbitration after three years of Major League service and will qualify as a free agent after si years of service in the Majors.
Ohtani will jump to the front of an Angels rotation that includes Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker, with names like Parker Bridwell, Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano among the contenders for the remaining spots. Given that Ohtani is used to pitching only once per week and was limited to five starts by an ankle and leg injury in 2017, the Angels would seem a good candidate to pitch with a six-man rotation. (That’d also help to manage the innings of Richards, Skaggs, Heaney and Tropeano — each of whom has had elbow issues in the past two years.) For all of his merits — a career 2.52 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 543 NPB innings — Ohtani has never pitched more than 160 2/3 innings in a season.
How the Angels will work him into the mix at the plate remains to be seen, but the signing could push the Angels to give Albert Pujols more time at first base than many would’ve expected. The Angels’ outfield is full with Justin Upton, Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun, leaving designated hitter as the most obvious spot for Ohtani, a career .286/.358/.500 hitter in 1170 NPB plate appearances, to receive any sort of regular plate appearances.
Ohtani’s addition to the Angels is a transformative move for a franchise that was in contention for a Wild Card spot up until the final week of the 2017 season despite a cavalcade of injuries on their pitching staff. With Ohtani and a full year of Upton now on hand, the Angels will enter the 2018 campaign in considerably better position than they did this past season, and that’s before even considering the fact that they’re still widely expected to make an upgrade at second base.
While there’s some skepticism that Ohtani can serve as an above-average bat on a regular basis, there’s little doubt among scouts that he’s a legitimate front-of-the-rotation arm, as MLBTR’s Chuck Wasserstrom wrote in a detailed scouting report after speaking with five high-ranking international scouting officials from MLB clubs earlier this year. The Angels, who already have deep pockets and vast spending capacity, are in many ways winning the lottery by acquiring an MLB-ready pitcher of that caliber whom they can pay at a league-minimum rate (or close to it) for the next three seasons. That luxury should allow them to spend more aggressively on other areas of need.
There’s been an enormous amount of speculation about whether the team that ultimately signs Ohtani would negotiate some type of early extension for him to compensate for his limited earning potential, though Major League Baseball has made clear to teams that it won’t stand for any circumvention of the international bonus structure by signing Ohtani to a precedent-breaking contract early in his career. As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes examined recently, that may not mean that Ohtani is forbidden from signing any type of extension, but a contract would likely have to fall under the guise of recent precedent as pertains to other players in his service class.
Clearly, based on the fact that Ohtani even requested to be posted this offseason, money isn’t his primary motivation in coming to the Majors, however. The need for a lengthy contract extension for Ohtani is ever less glaring in light of recent reports that he could earn in excess of $20MM annually via marketing and endorsement deals both in the United States and in Japan. Assuming he lives up to the hype, it would still eventually behoove the Halos to try to keep Ohtani around longer than his initial six years of control, though his lack of financial motivation in his initial foray into free agency could push that desire several years down the road. Presumably, commissioner Rob Manfred has some degree of statute of limitations in mind as to when a team could initiate extension talks without raising red flags or concerns about a preconceived deal.
Even with Ohtani on board, the Angels still face an uphill battle in the American League West, where the reigning World Series Champion Astros trounced the division and closed out the year with a 21-game lead. There’s little doubt that Ohtani will help to bridge that gap, but GM Billy Eppler and his staff will nonetheless still have work to do despite the coup of adding perhaps the most intriguing player on the planet to a team that also happens to include the the consensus best player on the planet over the past half-decade (Trout).
As for the other six teams that are left wanting, they’ll now shift to various Plan Bs and Cs as they deal with the disappointment of coming so close to a scenario they’ve envisioned for the past five years, when Ohtani was drawing MLB interest as a high schooler in Japan. The Mariners and Rangers each have more than $3.5MM worth of international funding that they can spend as a result of their pursuits to acquire Ohtani — money that’ll now be reinvested into the farm system (either via directly signing players or trading those allotments for young players). Teams like the Cubs and Giants, each with only clear spot to fill in the rotation, will now look to other means of filling that void — both in trades and free agency.
The most fascinating free-agent pursuit in recent memory has come to a close with the Angels standing on top, and we’ll now all wait for one of the most anticipated debuts in Major League history.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Not too surprised, but I thought The Padres, and Mariners had a better chance.
I’m not too surprised. I thought it was between the Angels, Mariners, and Padres. But I thought the Padres might have the edge
I don’t think Ohtani can play the field so that ruled out the Padres.
He played OF in Japan.
Only for a total of 62 games in 2013-2014 when he was 18 and 19
He hasn’t played the outfield in years
Padres have Ohtani’s former strength coach along with Nomo on staff
Padres never had a chance. He had them on the list becuase they are a call team. No other reason.
Riiiiiiiiiight, he listed and spoke with a team that had no chance, just for kicks…..idiot
Yea sure genius thats why Oakland was on the list as well. Wait they were not!
Only a moron would say what you did
Actually, that’s probably a correct statement.
It was said early on that some of the meetings were out of respect for those who would be attending. Preller’s front office is full of folks who have been important to Ohtani, so this may well have been the “courtesy” visit mentioned. Respect is important.
So the comment “idiot” would be both rude and ill-informed.
“It’s okay. He’s going to flop anyways.” – Yankees Fans
Yeah, na. You need to grow up, some fans like baseball and aren’t all children.
“It’s OK, he’s going to flop anyways.” -Mariners Fans.
Haven’t seen one Mariner fan say that.
You’ve seen a Mariners fan? Where?
Mariners fan here, totally wanted Ohtani, and totally hate the Angels. I’ve heard some friends saying they hope he ends up getting Tommy John or the like, but I’m not in that camp. I hope Ohtani is as advertised, as the dynamic duo he could form with Trout would just be a thing to behold. Of course, when I’m done admiring them and their athletic abilities at the end of the day, I would hope that their team has lost. The division just got more interesting, and that’s always good.
Finally, an honest, non-warped hatefilled poor looser, regardless of team affiliation.
loser not looser!
Hahahahaha
Not even close. Been a die-hard Yankees fan since I was 5, so going on 23 years now. Not all Yankee fans are unrealistic or jerks. There are those of us out there that understand baseball is a business.
Hopefully Ohtani will help turn the Angels franchise around. They have the big names but have struggled recently. With adding Maitan and now Ohtani, that definitely helps bolster their weak farm system. It’d be nice to see Trout and Pujols get into the playoffs.
Well said except that Ohtani will not help their weak farm system, he will go directly to Anaheim.
Trout and Pujols were in the playoffs and got swept by the royals I know because I’m a orioles fan and they then proceeded to sweep us lol
That was a good year for Kansas City, I love KC and it was fun watching us sweep both of you guys lol
Angel will suck with or without Ontani. I don’t expect angel to make playoff for at least 5 yr. will be lucky to pay 500 baseball.Houston , Mariner and texas will be a better team than Angels.
They’ll be wildcard. They actually did better than expected last year (although they got cold at the end of the season) a full year of Upton and the signing of Ohtani will be good for them.
Actually until he loses rookie status he will be considered in the prospect lists and minor league rankings
“Angels GM came from Yankees”
I trust Billy Eppler.
-This Yankee fan
Hell I’m already seeing some mariners fans hoping his elbow blows out or hope he’s a bust. Funny how some people are when a certain player doesn’t want to sign with their team in the end
Yeah, its unreal. Where are all the people who said Mariners, book it!
I would never wish anyone injury. I was really hoping he would sign with us, so I do feel a little jilted. But oh well.
In some rare cases it’s the same people possibly being hopeful then in turn being spiteful.
Most of the time it’s just the optimistic ones don’t respond after they lose out and the pessimistic ones become more audible.
Uh, I was one who thought the Mariners were a shoo-in. Really didn’t see the Angels as a factor in the process.
I don’t think I’ve seen a more upvoted comment on this site.
Padres…Seattle?!? Not with those two idiot gm’s.
I am surprised!!!
Glad he went to the angels honestly
As a Yankee fan, after he took my favorite team out of the running and narrowed it down to those seven, I was rooting for the Padres, because I like an underdog (weird, right?).
Not really weird. I think that’s human nature in general. When my dog’s out of the fight, I also root for the underdog. Most people are sick of the same handful of teams making all the big moves.
So you understand why a lot of people root against teams like the Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs right?
Wowww. The dark horse wins out!!
Thank you for doing this quickly.
Well that escalated quickly
Damn it San Diego I ask you to do one thing
Wtf
Yesssss!!!
In Eppler we trust!
Eppler is a stud!!!
Man I hope so
Why
Dipoto’s see Gordon trading looking even more suspect.
Hey now that’s rude
They still needed a leadoff guy and outfielder. They have a ton of money to spend on the international market with a lot of talent still out there. Just have to refocus onto established ML pitching….they have the $$ to add a legit upper tier guy.
The Angels don’t need an outfielder… Are you crazy? Upton/Trout and Calhoun are just fine.. A lot of teams would love to have Calhoun.
They need a second baseman, and their staff to stay healthy. But adding a 23 year old pitcher and a part time DH is sure going to help.
They are head and shoulders the second best team in that division.
Psssstttt he was talking about the Mariners.
you’re an idiot, he meant Seattle……dunce
They’re moving a 2b to centerfield while paying him well to do so. I think he had otani in mind for this trade as well.
I don’t see how the 2 are connected other then the extra int $$$ they got
I don’t see that related at all
A serious contender for Shohei otani beefs their international money up prior to him signing. If you don’t think that had some influence that’s your opinion. Mine is that it definitely did.
Macstruts the only thing you got right on your post its Seattle is the 2nd best team in the Div. With Ohtani and a couple more pieces and staying healthy they could give the Astros a run for their money. The proof is easy we used a record number of pitchers and still almost made the WC.
While I am bummed we didn’t get Ohtani and even more bummed he went to a Div rival I would never wish him harm. I might wish him to suck the days he faces us but never because of an injury.
I agree with everything you just said.
As long as it’s not the giants or Dodgers, I’m happy. Has angels ever had a Japanese player though? Tells you he doesn’t care for money like mariners thought
Hideki Matsui in 2010, some relievers here and there are the only ones that come to my mind.
Shigetoshi Hasagawa
Get shiggy with it
Hideki Matsui signed with them, but he built his legacy with the Yankees before going to Anaheim!
The Angels acquired an additional $1M in bonus pool money as well…just saying
Good point. Forgot about that.
If money were #1 on his list he’d be a Yankee
Na. If money were number one, he would’ve waited 2 years
Not true. That’s not international signings like this work, Mr. NutBunnies
That’s exactly how they work. He would have come in as a Major League level free agent instead of a mandatory minor league contract..
Nope. If money were #1 on his list, he’d be staying in Japan for a few more years.
Yes… Shigatosi Hasegawa and Hideki Matsui. Forgive the spelling.
Glad he went with the angels would love to see trout in playoffs
Same
No way
Yes!
Glad that one is over.
Wow this was shocking. The Angels?
Why is it so shocking? They have a FO that is working hard! The best Player in the game! The greatest hitter in this generation!
I was surprised because his opportunity to hit seems limited with a full OF and Pujols at DH. Never expected them to move Pujols back to the field.
Didn’t see this coming
I know he’s they might not want to do this because of his bad ankle, but will this signing put Pujols at 1B more often?
Why not play Otani at first? Saves his arm. Keeps Pujols at DH.
Yea, that’s true.
HELL YA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND GOODBYE TO ALL YOU YANKEES AND MARINERS FANS
Lets try to show that Angels fans have some class.
Grow up
F yeah! Lets make some more moves, Halos!
Yeah, like maybe a contract extension to Pujols!
@tedbowoo…..that was some serious gallows humor but It did make me laugh…..
no
Bridwell for Hernandez straight up?
Ok so can the giants now please get Stanton. If we miss on both, it probably doesn’t bode well for the coming season.
We need to kiss on both because neither would have been good for SF.
Miss not kiss
How would Ohtani not been good for SF?
you can argue that stanton is taking on too much risk but there is no reason ohtani wouldn’t be good – even if he tanks he isn’t expensive.
I just read an article that someone leaked who he would approve a trade to. It says Stanton would only approve a deal to go to the Yankees, Cubs, Astros and Dodgers. That is apparently what the delay is about. If one of those teams don’t step up and make a good enough offer, he will be on the Marlins (unless he changes his mind) and the Marlins will have to trade others like Yelich and Ozuna and if they find a sucker to take on Prado in order to dump money.
Yeah, they mentioned that article on this site last night.
there’s the $20 million posting fee.
That’s still not a lot in the grand scheme of things.
:League Minimum + Signing Bonus (less than $3.5M) + $20M posting fee = 6 years of control
That’s one of the more absurd claims anyone can make: the NL MVP and the #1 prospect in baseball aren’t good for the Giants. Who are talented players good for then? Teams in the Korean League?
Being the Giants doesn’t bode well anyways, no matter who you get.
Not necessarily, if they were willing to take on $250 million, they could conceivably keep their prospects they were going to trade, and sign many players to fill in the holes, for instance something along the lines of Lorenzo Cain, Todd Frazier or Moustakas, and a good pitcher to add to the rotation, either Arrieta, Cobb or Lynn. and some bullpen help. Maybe forget targeting a starter and get multiple top flight relievers. Guessing you could get at least 3 of these guys who obviously help their specific needs for the same money they would’ve taken on with Stanton.
The dollars are enough for that, but convincing the first player in that group that they will be successful doing it among competition will be a virtual impossibility. I’d be happy to be the third or fourth guy to join, but wary of being the first.
Stanton has said no to Giants and Cardinals will go Dodgers Astros, cubs and Yankees only
I a not that high on Stanton because of the opt out capability and his injury history. I would love to have Yelich.
That said, if you are willing to move Heyward to CF, I would make a run at him, just to test it out.
I would low ball, of course. I’d start with Baez and Almora and see what they say.
Wow there it is. Good luck, kid. Help Mike Fish get back in the postseason this year.
I am PUMPED. Enjoy that dipoto! LETS GOOOOOOOO
I will when he struggles
Lol zing
You mean you will from the unemployment line?
From the postseason, when Angels fans are scratching their heads trying to figure out how everything went wrong!
In the kelso voice “burn” halos101
^ lol
I’m surprised but not overly surprised. Seemed like a two team race to me (And NOT SD!) and he went to one of the two…
Omg
I knew it!
Angels are gonna be sneaky good! This was a good move for ohtani. The angels kind of seemed to fit on all his check marks. A lot of money but a smaller market where the media attention is lower, a decent team that he can help bring to the next level, west coast, Asian populations. This is exciting as an angels fan
Oh, you are an Angels fan, that explains why you think they are a smaller market. Smaller than what? Yankees? Yes, I guess in that aspect of it you are right.
Anaheim actually is a pretty small market.
Well it’s not LA or NY media attention. The angels have a big market and draw in 3 million fans every season but they don’t get much attention
I agree. Even with having Trout on the team they get the West Coast treatment.
That commemt made me laugh too. LA small market? Lol
Believe it or not, Orange County plays like its own small market here in Southern California.
On the coast between Malibu and Manhattan Beach, it’s often easier to get what had been the Padres radio home AM 1090 out of Baja California than it is to receive the ESPN affiliate in Orange County that broadcasts Angels games.
Little to nothing about the Angels is ever discussed on either the Fox Sports or ESPN affiliates based in LA, and you’d be hard pressed to find many people within 200 miles of either Dodger Stadium or Angels Stadium over 30 miles away who consider Anaheim or the Angels a Los Angeles team.
Moreno’s deftly named Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim really do play in a market closer in size to that of the Padres than the Dodgers’ and perhaps even the Giants’ markets.
Something tells me the Angels will be discussed more on those stations now.
You’re not keeping up with current events at all. The “of Anaheim” was dropped two years ago.
The “200 miles” crack tells me you have no regard for the millions of folks who live in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, who are as much a part of the fan mix in the stadium as locals from LA county and OC.
Add in the fact the Angel games on FSW are seen by more viewers in LA county than Dodger games, and your analysis gets even more threadbare.
Lol they still need pitching. Oh yeah they also play the Astros a ton. Also they dont know how to build the farm only sell it. Based on just that I dont think Ohtani is making a very smart choice or he doesnt care mucb about winning anytime soon.
I have a feeling Ohtani’s agent had a side deal with Disney for free lifetime passes. So he told Ohtani, hey, everyone is backing out, guess you will need to sign with the Angels. DEVIL GRIN
Yeah Disney does not own or have anything to do with the Angels my guy
So Disney sold the Angels 14 years ago…..
Eppler is building it
Really bad move for him. The OF is stacked and Pujols is the DH, so where are the AB’s coming from? Pujols playing 1B at this point in his career? The Angels have a really bad pitching staff for a playoff team and a weak farm, he’s also overshadowed by Trout, who might leave in 2 years while the team is still stuck with Pujols. He would’ve been better off going to the Cubs.
Great signing but yikes, an overweight Pujols at first? Bad plan.
I just read yesterday that Pujols has dropped a bunch of weight.
He needs a new pair of feet.
The Angels could sign God, they still aren’t winning the division. Maybe a wild card
Angels!!!!!!!!! I thought for sure he was going to Seattle.
Glad he went there if not cubbies. Trout deserves better! Now, Stanton could speed this up!
Why the Angels??? I mean, other than Ohtani, they have no starting pitching. Guess he was being honest when he said he didn’t care about winning. hahahahaahha. Good luck there, going nowhere.
They actually have a lot of pitching and talent. The only thing is health. They have Richards, Skaggs, Heaney, bridwell, Ramirez, tropeano. They managed to win 80 games last year with a pitching staff full of injuries
lol “a lot of pitching talent” good joke.
All of them are bottom of the rotation starters except for Richards who can’t stay healthy. Skaggs (4.56 FIP in 2017), Bridwell (4.84 FIP in 2017), J.C. Ramírez (4.81 FIP), Tropeano (5.27 FIP), Heaney (9.11 FIP in 2017). None of these guys are aces. Even Richards is questionable as an ace.
Preach
The talent ends with Richards, everyone else you mentioned has no talent, and if they did, it’s not like they can stay healthy
Doesn’t he know they have the worst manager in baseball?
When did they get Dave Roberts???
Now they ONLY need 4 more starters
and a whole bullpen and 3B
and a 2B and a 1B !
and a couple of bench pieces and a new manager
First the Yankees were considered a sure thing, then the Giants, then everybody said SD made the most sense, and then it seemed all but a foregone conclusion he was headed to SEA. Congrats Angels. Xmas came early.
I had a feeling he would go there. I thought for sure Angels or Mariners but I was leaning Angels. Good got them
Disneyland tickets for a lifetime was the Key
he could have just waited for the winter meetings and went to Disney world hahaha
I smell a BUST!
Lol bitter Yankees fan
Jon Daniels had been preparing for this for YEARS! What a failure he is!
Hater….
FINALLY….. Mike Trout will play on a winning team!
Is he being traded away from the Angels?? I must have missed this.
Hehehe
Angels are still bad.
Bitter
until you realize Ohtani is the next Kei Igawa
You sound bitter
I think they’ll go all in. Since Stanton wants to play in Los Angeles, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arte go after him too. Stanton was a 1B in high school, so he would have the opportunity to team up with TROUT in L.A.
He’s going to the Astros?
The real loser is Dipoto. Dude focused on too much on money but I guess he can spend that additional money on other players.
Ohtani was probably worried Dipoto would trade him.
Slow clap.
Wow, 50+ comments on here in 3 minutes.
Congrats Angels fans.
Gotta love that “Oh he’s a yankees fan, have a downvote” guy.
Lol
Wow. I hate that he’ll be in the AL West without Texas across his chest, but I love that so many people talked so much trash the last few weeks as if they had knowledge that the rest of the world didn’t and he ended up where he did. I didn’t see this coming.
Wow congrats to the angels. Big win for that organization.
Why does this feel so anticlimactic?
Nice. I figured it was down to the Angels and Mariners and it went the way I hoped.
Angels Will still finish last in the West.
Bitter much?!?!
They didn’t even finish last this year but go ahead and enjoy the sour grapes
No
Mariner fans the other day – “Yessssss. So happy you ditched NY. Can’t wait to see you in Seattle”
Mariner fans today – link to weknowmemes.com
Now the angels trade for Kinsler and sign Frazier to platoon with Valbuena. Team set.
Pitching and or defense?
But where does Ohtani play when he’s not pitching? The OF is set unless they plan on trading Calhoun. Pujols is the full time DH. First base maybe?
DH?
Word is that Pujols will try to play some first. He’s shedding some pounds. Gonna be in the best shape of his life! Or maybe he will need a breather from DHing….
Well they still need pitching
Kinsler and sign mous this move proves there all in before trout can leave. Angels fans expect a crazy winter
I’m really bummed as a Mariners GM. I thought I had him, but he said something was fishy with Seattle
I’m pretty surprised tbh, now let’s see what he’s got
I’m glad Ohtani made his decision so the off-season can finally get going. Sounds like the Angels are a good fit considering what Ohtani was looking for. Having said that, while this will almost for sure make the Angels a better team, it’s hard to envision it doing much more than getting them a potential WC spot… I don’t see any team in the AL West challenging the Astros for the division.
Interesting to see what they do now.
Arrieta? Darvish? Moustakas? They have to go for it now.
Good for Otani … Good for the Angels … Good for baseball
That wasn’t sarcasm
I guess the winter meetings …. unofficially … start now
Is Seattle going to now spend all that international money to sign all those ex-Braves prospects?
And Ohtani will get booed in Seattle his entire career now.
Oh please, just because Mariners became a late probable destination? What the hell did Ohtani besides pick a team he wanted play for
Not a chance he gets booed in Seattle. The cheers of the Japanese fans will be many, loud and long, .
Seattle fans are pretty passive bandwagoners. I don’t think they’ll care all that much.
Bandwagon fans? Usually they jump on a winning team what has Seattle won? They have had a pretty steady attendance record over the years. Your comment is stupid with no validity.
Seattle won’t boo Ohtani because he chose another team. They only player that really ever got booed for a long time was Aroid because he lied when he left. He said he was not leaving for the money but for a better team. The Rangers sucked with him there and Seattle got better when he left. He left for the money. If he would have been honest he would not have been booed as much.
Well said.
Didn’t the Angels get 2 of the Braves’ prospects? I know Maitan agreed, but not sure who the other was
Livan Soto
it isn’t a bad idea, that is for sure.
@chri…..I have been to Seattle many times and they will not be booing Ohtani, because he did not do anything wrong by choosing the team of HIS choice…..Seattle fans are not that petty…..
Jelfry Marte, whose contract was voided by the Twins, should be on their radar after coughing up Torres for IBP dough.
I wonder if the sum of the argument for angels was you’ll be teammates with the best player in the world,
That’s what I would have said.
Having trout as a teammate and mentor? That adds a heavy amount of weight for sure. Interesting take.
Angels still have to get by Houston,
Good luck with that
#SanDiegoSportsCurse
#MAGA … Make Angels Great Again!!!
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo
He’ll do OK but not great.
Salty because your team didn’t sign him?
I wrote on here the other day that he was going to the Ms or the Angels. Even though I wrote that, I thought it was going to be the Ms. and I’m mildly surprised.
Great news for Angel fans. GREAT GREAT NEWS.
Yep, I’m going to Spring Training next year.
Bummer.
Wow, good for him and the angels. As a Yankee fan, hope he shines and does great in MLB.
Damn! Congrats Angels fans, you got us Mariners good here. Can’t really argue with a team that has Mike Trout on it.
WOW! TROUT, UPTON, SIMMONS, PUJOLS, CALHOUN, MALDONADO, AND NOW OHTANI! That’s one hell of a team for a club that refused to rebuild!
you should probably leave Pujols off that vaulted list of yours sadly
Yes, but where’s the pitching? Should sign Darvish
Congrats Angels fans! He should be fun as heck to watch. Sucks for the M’s, they gave up a prospect from a really shallow farm for bonus pool money and didn’t end up with their man.
A couple of them. They still have the money to spend on the IFA though so it could still work out for them.
I hope the first time he faces the A’s he gets knocked out in the first inning. Spurn us will ya? Oh well, congrats Angles. He should be fun to watch. I really thought it would of been San Diego and then SF.
Please Angels be guilty of Tampering of some sort!
So when does DiPoto lose his job? Will they wait until this is finalized?
Why should he lose his job?
He is trying to trade for him as we speak ;)
Ok, and the Stros are still the AL West favorite. But good for them.
Scouts still believe Ohtani will sign with NY. -Joel Sherman
Haha, you get a +1 from me Death.
Yeah, that about sums up Joel Sherman.
He’s dead to me now! Oh well. I’d rather him be on the Angels than the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, or Cubs.
At least he’s going some place where he can’t hurt anybody.
I also think Dipoto focused too much on the money. Bummed he won’t be a Mariner. Hopefully we can use all that international money on some good prospects Dipoto will trade next year.
Ohtani was going to an AL team because of the DL. NL teams didn’t stand a chance including my Padres.
I thought that. But found it weird that 4 NL teams and only 3 AL teams made the final list.
Devastated…good luck Ohtani, I hope you have a great career (except against us Mariners) and thanks for keeping us in the running
Can we start the offseason now!!?
My guess is that jerry dipoto will now enter a psycho-depressive state and binge on trading 80% of his roster to cope.
Curious how long his deal will be. Angels still have a lot of money on the books.
Its a minor league contract. The Angels will have 6 years of control, just like any other player they would get in the June draft that came up in their system.
As a Yankee fan, I hope he sucks against the Yankees and blows away the rest of the league, wins the Cy Young, and that the Angels fail to make the playoffs.
This is the best take
though as jays fan I hope he destroys the Yankees as well,
but does mediocre against the Jays for whatever magical reason.
He just signed with the Angels so he can walk to Disneyland.
I feel like Ohtani weight is now off my shoulders. Let the stove heat up!
Fml
A west coast AL team whoda thunk it…maybe thats the reason he wasnt written up daily in Philly
Solid!! Now watch the Angels go and trade for Stanton now lol.
Congratulations Angels. From a Phillies fan and true baseball fan. Good luck against Houston. ..and Seattle.. And Texas..and Oakland lol I think his rookie year will be impressive but I think they need more pitching and infielders now to make it a competstive team for him. congrats
Wow, I guess Arte Moreno blinked in Morse code that he’d open his bank vault to Ohtani when the time comes for his new contract. That, and Ohtani must be expecting to become a Hollywood actor or something.
Well I did call him not going to the Padres but I expected it to be the Mariners. FWIW he’s ultimately gonna have to choose between hitting or pitching.
You’re so smart
Come on Stanton. Make a decision. This guy is coming from Japan. You’re moving from Miami. Get it done.
Nothing will get done, he doesn’t want to go to the Giants, or Cards
Great job, Angels!
Good job, Cubs! Didn’t expect you to make it to the finals.
what exactly is a “final”? you mean world series?
No, the final 7 teams that presented to Ohtani in person.
As a Mariners fan, of course I’m disappointed, but full props are in order for Eppler here. He did a great job finding a way to give LA a much-needed boost, not just with Ohtani, but with netting Maitan as well. They still have to address 2B and find a little more pitching, but obviously this helps a lot.
It will be fun to see how he integrates into MLB. I’ve always loved watching Mike Trout despite being on a rival team. It’s about the game first, teams second.
Anyway, congrats to all the Angels fans out there.
Great post, Stevil. I’m not a fan of either team specifically but agree that Ohtani joining Trout will make the AL West and your rivalry more fun to watch.
I had a hunch he’d agree before the winter meetings and before Stanton. He’s done his research on these teams.
Good luck to him. I hope he does well.
WOW. Given the moves the Mariners made to increase their international pool money, thought they would end up with him. But not always about money. Should be interesting to see how he does and whether or not he can be a true 2 way player.
So where is that dolt that kept saying “Padres, BOOK IT”………..
Any chance they sign Yu now? Sweet move by Angels. Wish him, Trout, and Angels best for next season.
That’s bs
Fk this guy
Damn I thought my pads were gonna take him. Oh well tho sucks for him tho that team is going to blow the next couple years with that farm system…
You’re right…no MiLB titles for the Angels for the next few years!!!
Just like the pads with their terrible GM
Betances for Otani?
juuuuuuuuuuuuust kidding
Hideo Nomo in the streets, Kaz Matsui in the sheets.
Boy, if there’s a manager worse-suited to handle Ohtani than Mike Scoscia I don’t know who it is.
The great almighty Theo struck out. LOL
That’s fine. They’ll just sign Cobb. No biggie. Trout is gone after 2020 anyway and the Angels still have a -2.0WAR 27 million lead weight DH. That team is about a bad as the Royals with a larger payroll. Best of luck to them all but eventually the well runs dry. Checkout the Yankees and their desire to be under the cap.
I’m happy he signed to the Angels. The mariners fans that said they would rather him go anywhere but New York look like idiots now. Congrats now you face an ace a lot more times a year.
The world was his oyster and he went with the Orange County Angels – why?
Why not?? For a couple of years he can learn the US game and how to pitch against MLB players. If he is what he is cracked up to be, he will get a huge pay increase in arbitration and the watch bidding war in 6 years when he hits FA at age 29
Because you got the best player in the game on the Angels bud.. oh and Cali is a great place to be!
At least San Diego has a future
Anaheim not so much
Anaheim’s prospect cupboard is bare. Their only asset is their willingness to spend like the 90’s Yankees. they are the Royals with a larger payroll.
Astros still the team to beat but mariners and angels closing
I agree but an injury or two crimps any team. Will be an interesting season in the AL next year to say the least.
That’s cute of you to say, but the Mariners have just struck out swinging on a down the middle fastball. They’re out. The Astros are still miles ahead of them both but the Angels are absolutely better then they were.
F yes
As baseball fans, I think the Gerald Ford said it best, “Our long national nightmare is over.”
I wonder if it will ever be revealed what each of the team presentations were. It would be interesting to see what each team put together.
LA’s was just a one-slide PowerPoint with a picture of Mike Trout’s face on it.
WHAT?!!! YESSSSSS! SEE YALL IN THE PLAYOFFS!
Simmons
Trout
Upton
Obtain!
4 Superstars!
I see one superstar and one guy with the potential to be a superstar. The other two are just very good
Simmons aint a superstar and you can’t even spell the Ohtani right, LOL
He meant Ohtani* obtain is just the autocorrect. chill
I see 3 players and one world that reminds me of those Bros that wear that Obey! crap
That’s one superstar, and someone that could be a superstar but also could be a miss. Angels are known to get the worst out of players
Posted on Friday less than a week later he’ll be an Angel. That is quick. Don’t see how he held up the market at all Now, Stanton might be another story. My guess is he stays a Marlin.
Not impressed Terry. Must have missed your alleged post with all the other posts of people “calling it” for their team.
See no one cares. You can “call it” then if it does not happen you never mention your post but if by some small chance it works then you post here claiming to know something that you did not
Believe i called this. Wheres the24kid lmao
Sheer luck with a guess doesn’t give anyone any credit.
Please lint out where I said Ohtani was coming to Seattle. And I still stand by my comment that on paper the Mariners are better than the Angels.
*point
Back to the cellars kid, where you will also find jerry dipoto. Enjoy dee gordon, im sure you think he is a stronger player than mike trout.
Was hoping for the Cubs, but if not them, then I’m glad he’s going to the Angels. Hopefully he, along with whatever FA’s they bring in (they have money again…) can help get that team back to the playoffs. As a baseball fan, I hate seeing special talents like Mike Trout not get chances on the biggest stage.
LA..just the small town he was looking for…
Yeah he still plays about 45 min away from LA so yes Anaheim is a smallish city
Tiny in fact…
He plays in Anheim which is Orange County which is much smaller then L. A.
Also moron he never said he would not want a big market. He even had 3-4 big markets on his list of 7. But morons like you read some b.s. from Brian Cashman and spread it like gospel.
Can you not think for yourself
Oh yeah I can think for myself I think you’re a jerk off
Trout: “Hi Mr. Ohtani, I’m Mike Trout”
Ohtani: “I’ll sign here”
Whooo! Let’s go Angels!
Now it’s time to see how this will play out. Wow so surprised
If they get one more decent starter (Cobb/Lynn) and a closer (Reed/Holland/Davis) they’re headed to the WS in 2018. The best and possibly second best player in the league on one team, plus Upton. They’ll be strong.
Who is possibly the second best player?
Referring to Ohtani, but he could dethrone Trout. He could also flop. Being people were ready to pony up $200M for a player who hasn’t played in the MLB, I think he could be one of the best.
Second base and third base are holes as well. They need to fill those up with at least league average players to have any chance at going deep into the postseason.
Yeah, they still have some work to do.
Yea. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with Ohtani. The potential for greatness is definitely there. And the cost made it a no brainer for every team to chase him. Landing him is a huge win for the Angels…
But he’s still a 23-year old with no big league experience. I expect him to become great, but I’d be surprised he was an “ace” or a true middle of the order threat right away. Give it time.
Ayyy called it
If you’re gonna take less money by coming to MLB now, you might as well play with the greatest player MLB has- and the Angels have him in Mike Trout. Congrats to the Angels.
Life long Angel’s fan! Pretty Awesome news today! I just hope the Angels will sign a big starter & “BIG” bullpen pieces! I know, I know we have 6 or 7 starters, but……..
Hey mariners fans I thought it was a given he was going to you guys. Lol
Hello pot, meet kettle.
Ohtani seems like a very humbled and respectful person. You don’t see a lot of people, let alone professional athletes who are like that anymore. Congrats to the Angels on getting him. I hope he does really well for them
The Giants only hope for competing was to get Ohtani and Stanton. Stanton alone isn’t going to elevate them enough. Would have been nice to have him, but the future is still bright in Padreville. Brighter still if they sign Hosmer…c’mon Preller, redemption is only a hundred million bucks away. haha.
100m on Hosmer and they wont have any competition for his services…that ludicrous money.
Angels still won’t do crap. Maybe squeak into the playoffs and then lose immediately.
Yankee tears are very delicious
Congratulations Angels. From a Phillies fan and true baseball fan. Good luck against Houston. ..and Seattle.. And Texas..and Oakland lol I think his rookie year will be impressive but I think they need more pitching and infielders now to make it a playoff caliber team for him. congrats
I couldn’t be more excited! And there is still plenty of money to sign a 2B. Man, this is going to be a fun team to watch!!
Is there a more overpriced dud of a team that he could’ve picked? Good luck sucking for the next six years!!!
Well, the Rangers and Giants both finished in last place. And the Padres have been bad for a while. So he definitely could’ve picked a worse team…
But I don’t get the hate for the Angels. I’m a Cubs fan, but I can the intrigue with them. They were in playoff contention for most of last season. And that was despite Trout missing a big chunk of the year. Getting him healthy is enough to keep the Angels somewhat relevant. But there’s more, too. They’ll have Upton for a full year. And now they’ll have Ohtani at the top of their rotation. That’s a pretty good start for a team that’s expected to be in on a number of free agent upgrades.
Really – it’s not that difficult to see this team making the playoffs next year.
These Yankee and Mariner tears are delicious. Saying that the Angels will be crap because of their farm system is a dolt move and they signed Maitan. Keep crying losers
That was a dumb decision
In other news Giancarlo Staton still hasn’t been traded !
This made me laugh. Thanks.
As a Mets fan I’m just happy he didn’t go to an already stacked team. LAA still has a few holes to fill, but he’ll definitely make the AL West a bit more interesting for the next 6 years…I look forward to catching some of their games.
As a lifelong baseball fan I hope he reaches his potential because it’s good for the game and he’ll be fun to watch for the next 10-15yrs.
Kudos to the Angels!! Didn’t think they could pull it off.
There was some speculation he wouldnt want to go to an organization with a previous Japanese legacy. It’ll be interesting to hear more about why he chose the Angels.
Yes speculation by people who know nothing
Once it got down to the final 7, I thought the Angels made the most sense for him AND that it would be the best for baseball.
Angels are now double must see TV between Trout and Ohtani.
Angels were the third or fourth team as far as where I expected him to go. California and playing with the best player in MLB. Good luck to him/them. I will look forward to watching him.
Congratulations to the the Angels!
This kid knew what I wanted (I still don’t understand it); but, good for him. He and his representatives handled themselves and this process beautifully. Welcome to MLB Shohei–the best of luck to you!!
Way to wait until after Pearl Harbor Day to drop this bomb.
Too soon?
Too tasteless.
Ass
No class comment
Boo hoo. Y’all should grow a pair o’ nutz.
Curious what angels promised him as far as at bats during year and what will happen if making playoff push and he is hitting like Mendoza
Your answer to your 2nd part is easy. He will not bat anymore if he is not hitting. well enough unless they are well back in the playoff chase. So therefore, the answer is……he will not hit if they are in contention.
When the Angels win the pre-season…
03-04 Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon
11-12 Albert Pujols, CJ. Wilson
12-13 Josh Hamilton
That’s just awful. The angels are terrible. They have no pitching. Before Ohtani. Now they have trout, Upton and Ohtani for hitters. Pujols is almost getting old. He’s at least 5 or 6 years older than he claims.
From the press release…”While there has been much speculation about what would drive Shohei’s decision, what mattered to him most wasn’t market size, time zone or league but that he felt a true bond with the Angels. He sees this as the best environment to develop and reach the next level and attain his career goals.”
It has always, despite multiple rumors, been about how he feels….what his gut says and the personel on the field think (i.e. from the manager on down).
So much was printed and all speculation. I look at what the players says/said and ignore the rest.
“The people on the team and in charge of the team is what matters most. I need to have a feeling of wanting to play for them.”
““There are still so many things I’m lacking, and I want to put myself in an environment where I can improve, hopefully I can go to a club that suits my way of thinking.”
As to signing quickly…this is from the Japan Times (Google translation) 11/30, after the 7 questions. “”Otani side who intends to not want to trouble the major transfer market already has information that it limits the candidate to about five teams, and the possibility of early settlement is high.”
And his promise to baseball fans….”The only thing I can promise is that I will play as hard as I can. And maybe that will inspire other people, that is the most honorable thing about playing baseball.”
He’ll never reach his goal of winning a world series. Or well two of them.
Not with the angels at least.
Since you see the future, can you send me some winning lottery numbers?
My point is he’ll be their ace. They haven’t had an ace since jeff weaver .. and he was a #3 or 2 at best. They need more pitching. Trout is likely gone when his current deal is up. Pujols is 40 or older.. after trout and Upton they don’t have much offense. Pujols is like Cespedes. Homer,k or dp.
Watch all about the Benjamin’s and those will be your lotto numbers.
This cost the Angels relatively nothing as a large market team. They still have the free agent market in front of them…and some splash to lure potential free agents. They arent far away i dont feel. Not when you consider that qualifying for a playoff is possible…and if that happens who knows in a couple of short series. I dont totally love the roster right now…but they have a couple of pieces that are STELLAR….SS that can flat pick on an Ozzie level. We’ll see what happens over the next month. They have all kinds of incentive to build now.
Wrek……Can you point to one quote of his that said the WS was a primary motivation?
Can you point to one instance of you selecting the right Powerball numbers to back up your precognitive skills?
@catmando
Wrek just likes to talk. He knows nothing
Wow. Congratulations to all the Angels fans out there.
As a Dodgers fan, this is like the second best outcome for me:
1.He didn’t go to SF,
2. He can only really hurt the Dodgers in the WS,
3. AND I get to watch him play regularly.
Same here
It’s refreshing to see a player not be all about the money, it’s just hard to respect a player who doesn’t care about winning…
Cubbie Steve—-what do you mean it’s hard to respect a player who doesn’t care about winning….where were the Cubs three years ago? Do you think Jon Lester didn’t care about winning? Where were the Astros three years ago? They Angels were in the race for a long time this season. And at this point, to him, there really wasn’t a whole heck of a lot of money to make it about…..
Funny coming from a Cubs fan…the team had a 30 year history of attracting free agents that didnt care much about winning.
@Cubbie Steve
Why does he not care about winning? Because he did not sign with the Cubs?
What is the “connection” he felt?
He comes off kind of old school….and Scioscia is all kinds of that. I dont ever buy the “money doesn’t matter” stuff. Maybe its a connection to Trout whos kind of a throwback too. That’s quite a 1-2 punch.
Just doesn’t seem like a great fit. Maybe it is tho
Well now we know that Stanton will be going to the Angeles
Well at least this part of the Ohtani/Stanton soap opera is done. Now when will Stanton and/or his rep quit being delusional and decide that leaving Miami is more important than whether he winds up with LAD?
He wasted the time and effort of a lot of teams during this process. He should have told teams on the East Coast and teams that don’t train in Arizona that they should not pursue him. They all sent in presentations which takes time and effort and he had no intention of signing with any of them. He has never thrown a pitch in MLB or taken an AB. I hope he busts hard.
They STILL would have persued him. Its really on them, and quite honestly Id think getting information from all 30 teams wouldnt be that big of a hassle….there’s been a large amount of time to prepare.
@Tim-Marlene Sherman
Cry baby. Boo hoo
I didn’t see this one coming!
Never heard of her
But the padres will light him up when he comes to town next season
Like I said, the fact he held all meetings in LA were telling. The fact he chose the Angels shows he really wants the DH spot but Pujols going to have a talk with the kid and set him straight.
I suppose the Angels may have promised to trade him after 3 years if requested like Ohtanis Japanese team promised to post him when he requested when it came down to choosing to sign with a US team or Japanese as a amateur.
The could also have promised a Harper like deal which pays him much more than the minimum his first 3 years and then lets him hit arbitration. That deal probably cant happen until ST
The Angels did not make such a dumb promise
I can easily imagine how the presentations went. Depots & Co got up and talked up Seattle, its beauty, west coast and large Asian population. This would go on with a slide show and hands for a half hour. The other presentations would be equally impressive.
Then Eppler walks in, empty handed and just says “Mike Trout”. Drops the microphone and walks out.
Dipotto. Sorry.