Shohei Ohtani has already narrowed his list of potential landing spots to seven team, according to multiple reporters (with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM the first to tweet the final seven). Only the Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Padres, Mariners, Rangers and Cubs will receive meetings with Ohtani. While Ohtani has three weeks to negotiate with teams, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that Ohtani could make a decision well before that point, noting that he could be introduced by his new club at next week’s Winter Meetings.
Of the remaining teams in the fold, the Rangers still have the most money to offer Ohtani, at $3.535MM, though his signing bonus seems increasingly to be a secondary consideration in where he ultimately signs, especially after last week’s reports that Ohtani could top $20MM in annual earnings in marketing endorsements. Certainly, his list of finalists reflects a preference for West Coast teams and a proximity to Japan, though the presence of the Rangers and Cubs indicates that he’s not quite locked into that mindset just yet.
Welcome to Seattle I’m calling it now!
Way to get out on a whim
I believe you meant on a limb.
I think he meant woman. That autocorrect!
Whim and limb both work. In this context they mean the same thing
No, no they do not.
I’m sure wanting to win is right up there with batting.
He’s stated that he’s happy simply playing the game, even at practices. Everybody wants to win, but he may believe that he can be a huge difference maker, and he probably would be. And if just winning were so inportant, why meet with a team like the Padres and not NY, Boston, Washington, etc.?
An admittance of the “not much of a winning tradition here”. Wow!! He wants to do greater things? If that’s the case, being a missionary might be the better calling.
Obviously has a west coast preference. Most likely cause it is closest to home for family to come visit. What we deem important isn’t necessarily the same as what he deems important.
Can’t wait for the yanks take a huge step back this year, hate all of you
He’s only 23. Perhaps winning isn’t as important as adjusting stress-free to MLB for two years. He knows he has another dozen or so years to ‘win’ and just wants to play.
Yeah. Notice how 5 of 7 are on the coast. The other two teams have a need of pitching.
Those teams can win without him. In fact, they might put too much pressure on him to perform right away.
He’ll make a difference in Seattle and they’ve been close to getting into the post-season conversation for a couple years, but they have veterans approaching their “use by” date and add pressure to perform too.
The Padres have the youngest team in the majors, their double play combo is a year away, and they have a couple pitching prospects almost ready, with several more 2-3 years away.
Ohtani would fit in with the kids in San Diego, where 2018 is a development year, with no pressure to perform right away. With a pitcher’s park and one of the top defensive catchers (who’s only 25 himself) and a slick centerfielder (stolen from the Red Sox) who is 23, he couldn’t find a better place to ease into the transition from JPL to MLB.
According to Cashman, a smaller market it right up there with batting.
I second that!
I find it how all M’s fans were bashing Yankee fans in guaranteeing he’ll be a yankee and that they’re salty. Will be funny when he don’t go to the mariners and then their fans get all salty also.
There’s still a 1 in 7 chance he goes to Seattle. There is zero chance he goes to the Yankees.
Mariners fans don’t GET salty. We were born salty. Sailors and all that.
No, but actually, Mariners fans don’t get salty, they get seasonal affect disorder year round.
I guess Mariner fans will be next to be mocked if he signs elsewhere.
Mariners fans would be mocked regardless.
I didn’t know there were actual Ms fans!
I’m a die hard Ms fan since birth, and will continue until I die. Championship or not. Ohtani, or not. Go Ms!!!
Edgar for the HoF
Yes, Edgar should be in.
Edgar was one of the best pure hitters I’ve ever seen. HOF, no doubt.
Yes we exist. It’s the team that’s been terrible not the fans lol.
You guys have pretty colors. Jabs aside, the city and griffey hooked me when iwas a kid.
I love the ballpark up there. Its perfect for the climate and its good looking.
I’m a Mariners fan and I still laughed
I could see that.
The M’s have a history of launching great players and recently have signed a couple pretty good ones.
I don’t think this is to far out there to be true.
I also think the Dodgers make a lot of sense.
it will be exciting to see where he goes and how he performs.
That’s not exactly breaking news there my friend. They are the favorite no doubt. Don’t count out Theo. He could sell a bald man a comb.
Im bald…I didn’t bite on his proposal, so you’re wrong
Well, not just any bald man. It has to be the right one.
Let’s not turn into Yankee fans.
You do realize that teams of all fans do this, right? This is not just a Yankee, Mariner, Red Sox, Dodger, Cubs, etc. thing.
Not all fans do it. When was the last time you heard an obnoxious Rays fan saying some high profile free agent was coming to Tampa?
When was the last time you MET a Rays fan?
Haha good point. The overwhelming majority of fan bases have fans that do, though …
Check out any of the Ohtani discussions that came before the Yankees were eliminated from consideration by the player. Sure, we heard from drum-beaters for many teams but for shear volume, the Yankees fans won out easily. The drumbeat was amplified by the articles that constantly dubbed the Yankees the clear favorites to land him. You can see that all things are not equal.
An LA fan calling other fan bases obnoxious
I meant to say fans of all teams. Sorry. And Rays fans rarely say anything.
Blame the media for the articles, not the fans.
The media and a great many fans seemed to be on the exact same page. Can you argue that the fans were being misled by the media into believing that the Yankees had advantages possessed by no other team? I suppose that’s true too, but I can tell you from experience that no amount of reality therapy seemed to make any difference.
lol, the irony. Next thing you see, a red sox fan calling the dodgers obnoxious.
Yuck the Fankees
People can dream all they want, but he’s going to DH for a West Coast team.
Probably the Ms, dark-horse Angels. Playing with Mike Trout and Albert Puljos is something the Ms can’t offer.
That said, the Ms are the heavy favorite.
Ohtani to M’s certainly seems like the best bet – but we’ve been surprised with this process already. So who knows?
Heck, you could look at the fact that the Cubs and Rangers are the only non-west coast teams and use it to declare them either the most likely or most unlikely choice here!
On one hand, to be the only non west coast teams could mean Ohtani looks at them as his preferred destination- but views the west coast as the only place he’d want to play if either the Cubs or Rangers falls through.
On the other hand, you could look at the west coast as his preferred destination, but think he’s talking with the Cubs and the Rangers because their pitches were so strong that he was unexpectedly intrigued by them.
Who wants to play with “Puljos”?
No but he can play with Nelson Cruz, Seager, Segura and one of the best 2B to ever play the game, Robbie Cano- a true MLB ambassador. Love how Robbie treats (all) fans at a ballpark
Angels.
A big Texas howdy is in order. Daniels always gets his man.
I’m predicting Darvish & Otani signing with M’s and Sabathia soon to follow. Tell me why this doesn’t make sense
sbathia said he wants to go to the Yanks so I bet he will go there. btw I’m a twins fan
I think he’d jump at chance to pitch in a West Coast contender
Because there’s no room (no pun intended big boy) for CC! -If Ms sign Darvish and Ohtani they’ll be set with Paxton, Felix and Mike Leake.
I agree Seattle or San Francisco
Don’t count Oakland out
(For Sabathia)
Ohtani to the Giants certainly wouldn’t hurt their chances with Stanton. Probably part of their pitch.
Stanton is likely to be resolved well before Otani
no way…Stanton will decide after ohtani…if Ohtani goes to the giants look for the dodgers to make sure that the giants don’t get Stanton also
I don’t think Stanton to LA is likely either way. No way would Ohtani to SF push LA to go get Stanton, I don’t see the correlation, they either want Stanton or they don’t.
its been reported that the Dodgers are still keeping an eye on the situation…the rivalry between these two might make the dodgers from letting the Giants get the two biggest players out there…so the correlation is the Dodgers are not going to let the Giants climb back in to contention
Most Dodgers fans and likely, Dodger management, realize that Stanton isn’t making up a 40-game gap on the Dodgers.
Fans may think that way I get it, but if they’re management does they have problems. You can’t worry about signing or trading for players to keep them off a rivals roster. That’s ridiculous.
Damn autocorrect, their.
Also, Stanton deal will. E done before Ohtani, this will be dragged out until the last few days
not stanton alone but Stanton and Ohtani will be good enough to make the Giants a wild card contender…and anything can happen in the playoffs
Yeah, probably only about 30 games
Doesn’t have to make up 40 game gap. Only has to be enough to make the WC. We have seen the results. 3 WS wins from the WC. Dodgers 0 WS wins from the West Pennant.
Happens every year, so not so ridiculous.
The Giants actually won the division in 2010 just edging out the Padres. 2012 and 2014 were WC years for them.
Also.. there may have been a 40 game gap in 2017, but that does not necessarily mean there is a an actual 40 game in talent (huge, yes. But the giants were not as bad as their record showed in 2017)
At the start of last season I thought the Ms we’re gonna kill it- Felix and Smyly looked amazing in the WBC. They’d compliment Paxton and Iwakuma. We had just signed Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger and Dyson in CF, all that was good enough for us to be a ‘WC contender’- how did that work out for us? Nobody knows what happens when ST ends and a new mlb season begins.
Why would Stanton care?
I would love to see him in San Diego. Not sure he will choose them due to them not in win-now mode, but he would help a team on the rise. If they got him, I wonder if Preller would go after Hosmer and Cosart, but he’d have to also add to the starting rotation to have a chance.
Padres not in win mode this year probably would help Otanhi acclimate better to the majors. He wouldn’t be on a leash at all. Padres are loaded with young talent too which means they are close.
With next year being another non-contention rebuild year, they would be a great team for Ohtani to play for while he gets acclimated to his new surroundings. It’s a low stress situation, and he would help the rebuild in the process.
Swhat I been saying! makes too much sense. Heard his translator is Nomo’s some as well
Only 7 places he should consider are:
New York Yankees
Yankees
Bronx Bombers
The Bronx
New York
The Judges Chambers
The House That Ruth Built
Idiot
Aww, umadbro?
And yet, he is not. That is the funniest part for me-the fact that the yanks were squashed right out of the gate.
As a Yankee fan, I’m quite glad that happened quickly. The constant talk that “he’s definitely going to the Yankees” or “Yankees are the elephant in the room” from fans and “experts” alike did nothing but make me nervous. Seeing as he won’t wind up in the AL East, at this point, I really don’t care where he ends up and I can now be spared weeks of nail biting!
I loved how the Yanks were the first one’s eliminated lol classic
Dodgers fans with the exception of the past 2 seasons were used to early eliminations for quite some time.
So what if the man doesn’t want to go to New York. That’s no reason to call him an idiot just because he didn’t want to play for your favorite team. This man is actually choosing not just where he’ll play but where he’ll live and maybe he’s more comfortable outside of the concrete jungle
Maybe he wants to play in the west. You will note all of the teams except the Cubs are western division teams.
Maybe he doesn’t want to play for The Yankees? I mean, you can’t blame him for having a preference of where he wants to play.
I don’t think there’s many players who specifically want to NOT play for the Yankees– or any team for that matter (which is different than saying “everyone specifically wants to play for the Yankees).
I think Ohtani had a preference for the west coast, and was willing to entertain one or two teams in the mid-west who made particularly fascinating pitches.
Looking at who he settled on, it’s clear nobody on the East Coast, no matter how good their pitch was, had a chance.
Cubs, while technically are not on the East coast, are far more closer to the East coast than West coast.
True… but average flight times to Japan are the same as Dallas, and an hour or so less than NYC.
Seattle > Tokyo = 10.5hr
San Diego > Tokyo
L.A & San Diego > Tokyo = 12hr
NYC > Tokyo = 14.5hr
Chicago > Tokyo = 13.5hr
Dallas > Tokyo = 13.5hr
Seems to me flight time might not be the issue, but the laid back atmosphere of the West Coast?
Yes, because the baseball season he’ll be flying home so often, especially on his off days from pitching when he intends to play the field or bat. Funny how he wanted a small market team but 3 of these teams on here are LA or Chicago and two of those are NL teams that won’t use a DH.
not so much by population…heh
Exactly right. The argument is that those last two hours of a 14 hour flight in first class are brutal?
Well, he won’t bat when he pitches in the NL, So, he can take 80-90 at bats off the table right away if in AL. He’s surely not THE DH on an AL team, which will likely platoon at DH. Outfielder? Unlikely, or maybe a liability. I think it is a wash
The first NL should be AL. Sorry.
He could bat when pitching in the AL if his team chose to go without the DH rule for that game. Not saying it will happen, but it is not an impossibility.
Not worth it for the couple times through the order before he gets yanked and then you’re dealing with shortening the bench and bullpen by pinch hitting once he’s gone. Plus AL teams prefer him to be locked in and focused on one thing.
Cubs are the only non-west division team he’s likely to go to.
Less to do with total hours in the air, more to do with the number of flights available to the flyer. More flights to Narita out of CA and Seattle than DFW, JFK or ORD.
I’m not sure what’s worse. This post, or the fact that other people responded to it (Yes, technically I just did too, but to make a point, and that everyone’s just wasting their time responding to trolls like he is. Just down vote him or something and ignore the comment. It’s unfortunate that a majority of the comments here are replies to ridiculous posts like this)
Thank you for being you, MB923. It’s very easy for me to say “Yankees fans are so obnoxious” but people like you remind me that that is an unfair statement. (Of course, that can be turned on me as a Red Sox fan as well, among several other fanbases). It’s a shame that this site is getting bogged down by the trolls of the internet world, it was once a place for knowledgeable baseball discourse. I learned so much about other fanbase’s points of view, how they feel about players/management, what they expect of their team, etc. It was and can still be really refreshing. Cheers.
Thanks bosox90
Maybe the Padres will sign him and trade him to the Yankees like they did the Toad.
Totally different circumstances, the Toad refused to play for the Padres and insisted on playing for the Yankees
Yes because he said it reminded him of a concentration camp.
Oh snap
Yeah and it was a blessing to the Padres. Gwynn called him Head=achy
Gwynn didn’t want him taking over the locker room spread, that was his territory. 😉
Yeah but toad couldn’t hit .340
Or keep his weight or ERA under 340.
The House that Ruth Built was demolished.
1 day and they already have headlines calling him chicken. You all act entitled. Many (not all) Yankee fan on here had a guarantee he would sign in New York. Stop pretending you didnt want him. Go sign Kevin Maitan and act like its a big deal.
This has to be the record for most thumbs down on a comment lmaooo
Re: Cubs and Rangers: both DFW and OHare have non stop flights to Japan.
How often can he travel home throughout a baseball season? MAYBE once during All-Star break and that is if he isn’t playing.
That’s why I find it weird anyone specify west coast at all. NYC has direct flights to Japan, too. And the extra 3-4 hours on the flight as compared to Seattle doesn’t mean much when you can fly back once a year, as you mention.
West Coast has larger populations of Japanese. More Japanese culture. More Japanese food.
just wondering…has he said that’s important to him? I’m just asking because lots of people, including myself, prefer to experience other cultures when we travel. I wouldn’t travel to Japan and look for the most white Midwestern community to live in.
Spending 28 hours in the air is always fun…
No. But you are talking about traveling, not living for a significant amount of time. If you have never lived away from home, just having access to people that speak your language and understand your values is a relief. His proposals he asked for from teams foregrounded comforts, ability to help transition/acclimate. Many people who go to live abroad talk about missing small things like peanut butter, mac & cheese, football on Sunday, going to the movies. Or worry about big things like not wanting to make social errors, not wanting to get ripped off in business/financial/commercial transactions, and not be able to do anything without an interpreter. It’s not nothing.
It is not him flying back and forth, it is family to see him. Duh!!
so he has said a local Japanese population is important to him?
Yes.
You have forgotten about family and friends coming to see HIM.
True, but I would assume his family will want to fly in to see him.
Perhaps he has family that would be flying over to see him during the season.
Other cities with nonstop flights to Tokyo include New York (JFK and Newark), Boston, Toronto, Washington DC (Dulles), Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Houston and Denver, although not all are served by a Japanese airline.
I highly doubt he prefers the West Coast do to it’s proximity to Japan. Flight times are only 3-4 hours different across the entire US to Tokyo. So it’s likely he wants to live in the West because of the higher population of Japanese Americans and more relaxed culture.
7 teams left….the M’s will finish in the middle of the pack…like always.
Middle of the pack? Like Ricky Bobby says, if you ain’t first you’re last. There is only one winner here, no “middle of the pack” and the rest all losers in this lottery.
Coming from a fan of an east coast big market team, it’s refreshing to see a superstar NOT want to come here and choose other factors over money
As a Rangers fan, I appreciate that take. Yes, I would love him in a Rangers uniform but I have respect for his process even more now.
If he’s going to consider the Cubs, he might as well consider the Yankees as well.
Well….he didn’t.
My point was it doesn’t make sense. He wants a small-market, West-Coast team so obviously that means Cubs.
He hated the Boone hire I heard.
Wait wait wait. Every yankee fan on earth said he was going to the yankees. Im so confused
Yep, and now it’s Mariner fans next.
And then Padres, Giants and Angels fans…
He’ll probably end up in SF, but hopefully he ends up in America’s finest city of San Diego.
Founded by the Germans…
Huh?
He should sign with the Texas Rangers
Why?
Because
Because
Well, if he ends up with a West coast team, I hope that it’s anyone but the Dodgers. I’d like to think that it would be the Giants or Angels, but I definitely can’t see him in Anaheim, and the Giants don’t seem competitive enough at the moment. Maybe Seattle, then?
As a Giants fan it would be awesome to get both him and Stanton but realistically i dont think either happen.
As for Ohtani, i think he becomes an Angel.
The DH spot in Anaheim is already taken and I don’t see Pujols going anywhere to make space for Ohtani.
I personally as a giants fan don’t want the giants to get Stanton. This year he was so good, we forget how injury prone he is. He was almost recent Pence levels of hurt in Miami for the last few years. I don’t like the feeling of hitting a farm system for a power hitting RF who is hurt more often than not.
What farm system? Angels & Giants have futile systems
How is getting hit with a baseball injury prone?
Billy Eppler, GM of Angels, already said Pujols is working to lose weight to play more 1B. Don’t think having Pujols will make it an issue!
Ha, Pujols at 1B? Try the DL…
Angel’s GM has already stated that Pujols will be playing more first base this year and is working hard this off season to get in better shape. So yes there will be DH at bats for Ohtani.
Angels have two things on their side that other teams can’t offer: the chance to play aside Mike Trout and SoCal weather.
Last I looked the Dodgers and Padres also have SoCal weather.
They don’t have both weather & Trout. The Doyers do have crummy LA.
Told you so………..
One thing that seems to be getting missed in this is Ohtani’s stated desire to not be in a huge market. How that leaves the Giants, Dodgers and Cubs on the list, I’m not sure, but as much as Arte Morena wants to believe the Angels are in the “major” LA market, they are not. If you’ve ever been to Anaheim, or the surrounding area, you know exactly what I mean. To me, this is going to come down to the Angels, Rangers and Mariners, and as an Angels fan, I have obvious hopes for him to go there, even if that is just to keep him from a division rival. San Diego is the wildcard to me, but I think the DH opportunity will be too much for him to pass on. Being able to play with one of the greatest hitters of all time in Pujols, and arguably the greatest overall player of all time (at least so far) in Trout would have to be considerations for someone who appears to be making his choices based on a love of baseball and a closer proximity to Japan.
I’ve been around Anaheim, the freeways are awful. It’s basically just a wealthy suburb of LA. Dallas-Fort Worth is also huge. The only less than huge market cities on the list are San Diego and Seattle.
Why aren’t the Angels getting involved?
Other than being one of the 7 teams set to meet with him? How much more involved can they be?
Forgive him…the Angels have a large part of their fan base that actually know nothing about baseball and just like to fit in…they have some very knowledgeable and loyal fans but a lot of them just like to hang out in the Budweiser pavilion and look cool, which they don’t
So taking the comments from Eppler a few days ago where he said he expects Pujols to play in the field much more this year as he will be one year further away from any surgeries (unless he has another one that he is hiding). That will leave the DH spot open a few days a week. Here is how I see Ohtani fitting in with the Angels. Day before and day after his start are rest days. He is DH for the others days between his starts. That would give him 3-4 days a week hitting along with 1 – 2 starts each week. It actually makes the most sense. Then when Ohtani is pitching or resting for his starts, Pujols is the DH. Give Pujols a little rest for his aging body and Ohtani a chance to be a 2 way player.
.
I would love to see that happen and work out well for the team. The biggest variable is how much Pujols can play the field these days. I honestly wasn’t expecting the Angels to go after Ohtani initially assuming Ohtani wouldn’t be interested in a team with someone already locked in at DH, but giving Pujols split time between 1st and DH to give Ohtani at bats that could work.
I can see him signing with the Angels unfortunately…the problem with Pujols playing in the field is that he’s gotta be more like 42 years old instead of what he’s listed as
Angels fan…. can confirm
Sounds like someone who has a grudge or grunge.
Sign with the rangers!
Dodgers all the way
i honestly think he’s not going to the dodgers or giants. everyone automatically assumes he’s gonna come here and be great, but what if he doesn’t perform like he’s expected to? the dodgers and giants both have rotations with players getting paid much more than ohtani will, so where do you see him playing?
Most assume AL due to the DH, but it would be foolish to count out the Cubs. Joe Maddon is a perfect fit to manage this situation, he’s used relievers as position players already in the past. Obviously they have a few things going against them, not being on the West Coast and having too many outfielders. But I don’t doubt they’d be a team that lets Ohtani play where ever and as much as he’d like.
I’m just glad we have a seat at the table. It’s pretty awesome to be a preferred choice for a generational type talent like Ohtani. We can probably pitch a 6 man rotation to accommodate his transition from NPB (could also help all of our off injured arms stay healthy). No real Japanese star in the club’s history so if that’s actually a requirement we fulfill it. ABs at DH are available if Albert can play 1B occasionally. Plus we have the ACE in the hole of having Mike Nelson Trout on our team, something nobody else can boast. Chances aren’t bad IMO
While I’d love for him to go to the Dodgers I think he lands with the Mariners or Angels. West Coast teams with the DH.
Would be great to see him in the brown and yellow
you’re sick if you want to watch someone play in a toilet
I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone…
M’s or Angels….he should DH.
Looks like he’ll still be donning Pinstripes.
Not unless the Angels change their uniform.
Cubs have pinstripes
If you take the Dodgers and Cubs out (maybe Rangers too) it seems like an arm load of garbage teams! Nice to see this kid values quality baseball so much!! Good luck to him! He will go 3-15 pitching for most of those bottom dwellers!
Obviously his priorities are being able to hit and pitch, he wants to do both. If he’s as good as they think he’s going to be, he’ll have every opportunity to win during a long career. He’s 23 and will have multiple contract in the MLB. Right now, he just wants to play, and of course money isn’t a concern, or he would have waited another year.
Shoot the way Dave Roberts manages his lineup he will get plenty of opportunities to bat with the Dodgers despite them being in the NL…there were games in the playoffs where I thought Honeycutt was going to have to start warming up in the bullpen and Chris Woodward was going to have to pinch hit
If anything has been shown its that ohtani doesnt do things the normal way. He pushes boundary’s as far as what he is looking for in the majors. More than money, more than fame he is looking for a home away from home. To be honest I think Seattle, texas, dodgers can be taken off the board because of the legacy they have had with japanese born players and the pressure it would put on him to great. Chicago and texas wont be a factor due to local and there not being much culture for him to feel at home. I think based on whats he shown us the bigger markets arent something he is into aswell so id take giants off. To me its gonna be the angels or padres for ohtani. Look at it this way, the angels have trout and despite dawning the la in front of their name they are still anaheim and are still a smaller market in the orange country area. Padres on the other hand he would be the face of their team and they arent expected to be very good for some time so there wouldnt be much pressure. I personally have been to sd many times and its ripe with asian culture. To me it comes down to angels and padres.
Chicago has a thriving Japanese community.
Sarcasm right?
Good joke.
Darvish didn’t bat much if at all in Texas and his legacy isn’t exactly insurmountable for a young guy like Ohtani.
– he prefers west coast
– he prefers a team with no established Japanese players
– he has used the Peoria Sports Complex facilities before
– he prefers small market
Why would he really pick Dodgers or Giants? Cubs? On all of these things and climate alone I speculate he could opt for my Padres… Padres also have Hideo Nomo as a spring instructor and Akinori Otsuka as a minor league instructor. Takashi Saito also serves a front office role. Peoria has served the Ham Fighters for off season training before and I think for WBC as well. Does it get smaller market? At least he will be able to establish himself as an ace with a fairly weak rotation. Could DH interleague games and probably be situated in the corner outfield on other days. As a Padres fan, they don’t really have any immovable objects. Move Renfroe around it whatever
Agree.
Trade Renfroe for another starter, or a piece that is needed. I would imagine Otani will play corner outfield during his days off.
He probably won’t play the field or DH on the day before or after a start. So only 2-3 days per week.
This is what I’ve been saying. Thanks for posting. #brown&yellow
I Really agree with you, As a Padre fan myself i hope he choose the friars if he does i think he would boost the team on both positions (pitcher and batting) plus i think he would be that piece the team needs to get over the 90 win margin, Cause im sure if he signs with the team we can bring Hosmer or another major free agent to the mix
Don’t forget that Nomo’s son is Ohtani’s translator and that Nakagaki, his personal trainer and the strength coach for the Nippon Ham Fighters from 2013-2017 is now with the Padres training staff as well.
I still think he is going to the Mariners, who share a spring facility with the Padres.
poor Makita, he’s getting no love
Most pitchers can’t stay healthy all year, most players also at some point also find it hard….. yet a lot of you seem to think this kid from Japan is superman, not yet MLB proven !!!!!
I was just watching a video of Shohei making fools of the USA team when they played over seas. Otani will be just fine pitching, Idk about his hitting
Dodgers sitting on the sidelines patiently watching the Ohtani and Stanton dramas play themselves out for a while.
I’ve thought Mariners all along, but if I had to bet today, I might go Angels.
He’d have access to LA but get to play in the relative quiet and anonymity of Orange County.
He’d be the opening day starting pitcher.
He’d get to play with Trout.
Doubt he would be opening day starter with Garrett Richards still on the team, but he would pitch the next day!
Angels is my pick. Makes sense on alot of levels.
Only in that Arte will be chomping at the bit to overpay.
Can’t over pay. Nippon will get 20M from any team, Ohtani will get the signing bonus which would be anywhere from $300,000 (Dodgers) to $3.5M (Rangers). Angels only have $1.315M to give him. Then he signs a minor league deal and when he makes the opening day roster he would play at league minimum and would be under team control for 6 years. So he would make something along the lines of 200M in year 2 or 3 if team deems him worthy, so not overpaying until after the first year or 2.
If what I read in another article is true that Preller is keeping track of him since he was 16, I don’t know if Preller’s extension doesn’t help the Padres getting Otani
Loyalty can be “Otani’s call”
I’m sticking with my prediction of an AL team so he can DH between starts. His preference to be on the west coast is also apparent. My #1 guess is the Mariners with their Japanese ownership and strong ties to Nippon baseball. The Angels would be my dark horse because of the LA market, a substantial Japanese populace in and around Anaheim and the presence of MLB’s best player, Mike Trout.
Four of the seven teams still under consideration are NL teams. Just thought I’d point out the obvious.
Well, there are also only 6 teams on the west coast, 3 in each league. 5 made the cut with the A’s being the one exception for reasons unspecified. That left 3 left coast NL clubs still left in the running along with the Mariners and Angels from the AL. Ohtani also left open the possibility of one team from each league outside of the west coast, the Rangers and the Cubs.
Obviously there were some other factors involved besides those already mentioned. The 7 finalists all had to score high on Otani’s checklist. The Cubs and Rangers must have hit all the boxes while the A’s most likely failed.
Bottom line: if Otani is serious about his desire to maximize his skills as both a pitcher and hitter in MLB it would have to come with an AL club. In Japan, he hadn’t played a field position outside of the pitcher spot since 2014. He’d been exclusively a DH between starts since then and that’s when his hitting numbers also improved dramatically and began approaching his dominance on the mound. It would be difficult enough for him to excel as a two-way player in MLB without also having to play another position. Prior to 2015 Otani was an outfielder in Japan. Trying to patrol the OF and make all the necessary throws would play havoc with his throwing routine as a member of the starting rotation.
We’ve been hearing from the beginning how it was inevitable he’d want to play for an AL team. Never thought that made a lot of sense myself, and I argued the reasons why it didn’t necessarily make sense in many of these threads. Now that we find the player limiting his selection to more NL teams than AL teams, I suggest it might be a good moment for those making the AL argument to reconsider their assumptions about what the player wants.
Ever heard of long toss??
Well, we’ll all find out his destination in short order and I suppose one of us will claim bragging rights for our differing arguments.
Btw-As mentioned frequently before, I have been a die-hard Cub and White Sox fan since the early 1960’s. As such, I hope he will choose the Cubs since the White Sox have already been eliminated and in spite of the fact that the South Side of Chicago made more sense as a destination for Otani than the North Side. I also lived in Seattle for a short time where my son was born and I where I had frequently taken my elder daughter to games at the old Kingdome. As a result, I adopted the Mariners as my third favorite team. All that being said, my head tells me Otani will choose an AL club, likely the Mariners even if my heart hopes he picks the Cubs.
Yeah, because a pitcher playing “long toss” between starts is akin to actually playing LF or RF fulltime. In addition, I’m not all that certain that a starting pitcher would make a habit of “long toss” during the season. I believe most have a set routine that usually includes running every day and throwing a bullpen side session at their mid-point between starts.
I am going to claim some of those bragging rights now. I’ve never tried to predict on what team he’d end up, but from the very start I’ve been arguing that it was hardly a lead pipe cinch that he’d only consider an AL team. That theory has been proven completely wrong already.
I like going out on a limb to predict a destination. I originally had Otani likely headed to the Yankees with the Mariners as my second choice and with the White Sox as a long-shot that made some sense. With the narrowing of his teams down to 7 I have since revised my opinion to the Mariners as the favorite and the Angels as choice #2.
Obviously, I have not altered my stance one bit about him playing in the AL but would love nothing better than for you to be correct and for Otani to choose the Cubs. I’ll gladly give up bragging rights for that to happen but I just can’t predict an NL team, even my Cubbies.
Butts are apparently bleeding everywhere in NY with how sore they appear to be in this comment section.
How could a team not want him? He’s going to hit 65 HR, win 25 games and play flawless defense!
And with his other hand…
Only pause that Ohtani gives me as a hitter is his high strikeout rate of 27% in Japan. But his bat will play. His arm is the golden ticket. With limited starts in the OF or utilizing him in double swithes is fair to see how his skills will translate to mlb.
Heck, to get 6 years of control on the cheap with those talents I’ll take it. If he goes to the Dodgers, I’d say their farm will move to #2 behind the WhiteSox. They will have 7 top 100 prospects. Yummy
If the Dodgers were fortunate to win the Otani sweepstakes it should have no bearing on the ranking of their farm system. There’s little doubt that he will be a MLB pitcher and/or hitter when the 2018 season commences.
I think he’s done his research on teams and is looking for a fit. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s signed by the end of the week. Remember he was only posted Friday night and already he’s down to seven teams. He’s not your typical free agent and we should be looking at things beyond conventional wisdom. What has convinced people in the past to sign with a team, may very well not work on him.
Hopefully he will pick SD. They could do a modified 6 Man rotation. Make him the starter every Tuesday. You get more butts in the seats on a usually slow night. Making Monday the first day of the rotation, based on a 7 game week, go #1, ohtani, #2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, ohtani, 3, etc. Let him play the field 4 days a week and off on Mondays (maybe pinch hit) and occasional Wednesday. Could see Preller and Green doing something like that
Maybe the Giants offer him an outfield position on non pitching days. That might appeal to him. Not like he would be replacing a gold glover out there.
If he wants to get a bunch of at bats or a possibility of at bats, it is between the Mariners and the Rangers.
I would imagine the Japanese endorsement deals would amount to more being with the Mariners than the Rangers given the history of Japanese players that have called Seattle home over their careers?
We have heard rumors and rumors can be like excuses…everybody has one. First it was “these teams have the most money” What did Ohtani say about that? ““As long as I have enough money to be able to play baseball and am enjoying baseball, that’s all I’m asking for right now.”
We heard He doesn’t want to play with another Japanese player.
MLB.com: Would it be better for you and Darvish to be on separate teams
Ohtani: Being on the same team would be great, but being on separate teams would also be great, because I would get to face him.
We hear this place or that has a larger Japanese population. On his list of questions #4 was…4.“Resources for Shohei’s cultural assimilation
Here is what he has said about where he wants to go…….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.” and…..”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.”
Everything else is just opinion and rumor.
Which is why he is definitely going to the Yankees!
🙂
Sorry, hard to resist.
BlueSkyLA…Thanks…I just shot coffee out of my nose laughing.
Ewww. TMI!
I can describe it in detail if you like…speed, trajectory, color, consistency….
Sure but can you make it break low and away to right-handed hitters?
Depends on the nostril.
I think its a no brainer, either the Angels, Dodgers or Cubs.. Why would he choose any other team? The angels are very enticing imo. I would want to play with Trout, Pujols, Upton, and rememeber, Angels almost made the post season so.. Any other team hes a fool.
Actually it’s foolish to believe that he must think exactly like you. He has his own mind and his own choices. If he doesn’t agree with you, it won’t be Ohtani that is the fool.
Que Ohtani firme con los cachorros de chicago lo pueden usar como picher, jardinero, bateador emergente y designado en algunos juegos interligas.
Joe Maddon le puede dar alrededor de 400 turnos por temporada. Reforzaria la rotacion grandemente del equipo y se uniria a una rotacion encabezada por el veterano Jon Lester el cual le puede ayudar en sus inicios grandemente.
I think it’s a good fit, especially with the manager.
Los Dodgers pueden ofrecer lo mismo, más: Kershaw > Lester (por lo menos como tirar la pelota a la primera base); Los Angeles es más cerca a Japon que Chicago; y hay pocos asiaticos/Japoneses en Chicago para ayudar con la asimilación cultural. Si él viene a NL, a lo mejor será un equipo en California. Ojalá que sea LA!
It’ll be either Texas or the Angels. They’ve got more money available, both teams would compete for a championship with him, and both markets have airports that are major hubs for the country, making flying home and back a “whenever is good” proposition. None of the other choices offer all three.
None of those three things are of major importance
If Otani prioritizes winning a championship among the remaining 7 teams his decision would come down to the Dodgers or Cubs, hands down. I don’t believe that reason alone, nor your other two will ultimately be the deciding factors in his choice of organizations. I still maintain he will likely be a Mariner and possibly an Angel by the time the winter meetings are complete late next week despite my hope he will choose the Cubs.
So you don’t think those reasons will be why he makes his decision, but offer no rationale for your elections?
Okay.
sportingdissent….rationale would be in what he has said, like…..“As long as I have enough money to be able to play baseball and am enjoying baseball, that’s all I’m asking for right now.”. He has made millions in Japan playing baseball and millions more in endorsements. More money will come in via endorsements no matter were he plays.
As for competing now for a championship…he has never said it was a factor nor has he addressed “a travel” hub…both are pure speculation.
So where do you guys think this guy really ends up? He wants to be on the West Coast and a small market team from what I hear so it’s weird he’s even taking a meeting with some of these teams. I have a gut feeling he goes to the Angels or the Giants but I am hoping he goes to my Dodgers. I’d be pretty mad if the Giants get Othani and Stanton lol but imagine that lineup with Othani, Stanton and Posey and Bumgarner if Bumgarner is pitching that day because that dude can hit really good too and that’s if Othani turns out doing well like everyone thinks he will. As a Dodgers fan I’d rather see him go to the Angels if we don’t get him but I do think he goes to one of those teams.
Padres is my guess, unless the Cubs presentation blows them away….and it could.
“He wants to be on the West Coast and a small market team from what I hear” is another case of rumor. The only people that said that were Cashman, who said it seems that is what he wants, and Heyman who heard reports. The “final 7” indicates otherwise.
I think he will end up with the team that fulfill the requirements he actually said…”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.” and…..”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.”
Joe Maddon with his outside the box thinking will win Ohtani over.
I’d like to see Padres attempt to get him
Don’t know why everyone is getting so excited about Ohtani. Watched Yu Darvish in Texas and wasn’t that impressed. Would rather see the Rangers go after couple front line pitchers.
great comparison
Ohtani isn’t Yu Darvish.
Thank you!
Mike Scioscia managing Ohtani sounds like a recipe for disaster
This is great that this competition for Ohtani is happening. It beats the depressing Stanton saga easily.
So once the Cubs get Ohtani and Cobb, I’m anxious to see what they do with the bullpen.
Ohtani
Hendricks
Lester
Cobb
Quintana
Why would he go to Chicago?
I’m sure that’s just a formality of looking at 1 of 5 large market teams on the list
I know people like to pretend they have an inside look into Ohtani’s head but if the Cubs are still on the list they have a chance. Maybe he doesn’t care as much about comfort and ethnic reasons as a lot of people believe.
Love rotation. Get couple of morrow reed Watson minor neschek Kintzler
Cubs won’t start him, there selling him on being a reliever to get more at bats. Start in OF, come in a few innings and pitch, back to the OF.
I love how a guy who’s never thrown one pitch in the MLB is already making demands. I hope he fails miserably….
Says the guy who’s team obviously is not one of the final 7. Why wish failure on a player you have never seen play.
Why is he making demands? He’s looking at his options and going to go with what’s best for him. How is he any different than a free agent? You don’t think they can choose where they want to go? Only difference with Ohtani is he doesn’t care about the money. A lot of players want to play on one coast or the other, so why not him? Sorry your Yankees aren’t getting him.
Yeah, the only real leverage Ohtani has is deciding what team to play for. He can’t demand money because he is stuck with the International pool money each team has.. He gets a minor league contract. Can’t go to the highest bidder. Can’t demand much of anything.
Must be a Yankee fan. You probably didn’t play well with others as a child, or as an adult. If you are are an adult…
“I hope he fails miserably….”…Like your statement did?
BTW, what demands has he made? Please be specific?
If you are referring to that request for information specific to each teams benefits and philosophy that was a smart move considering almost all 30 teams had interest. Would you have preferred 27+/- individual meetings so it can drag out longer?
I said before the only way Ohtani does not choose the Yankees is if Cashman blew it. We will never know what was in his presentation but it obviously did not match the Cubs presentation (big market, not a WC team). To not even meet with the Yankees is a huge snub.
Of course maybe YS3 turned him off. He may prefer more of a pitchers park. Still though, not even given them a meeting is telling
You know, some players just don’t actually care about playing for the Yankees. Players are people too, and they have preferences. I’m sure there are plenty of players that would prefer to beat the Yankees rather than play for them. In his case, he’s from Japan. Probably didn’t even see the Yankees play.
I have a feeling Cashman did nothing wrong, and Ohtani just simply didn’t want to be in New York. Pretty simple.
The REALITY is , we didn’t need a Ohtani….. I hope he has a great career….. we’ll just go sign the best of the Braves prospect exodus and reload for the next wave of baby bombers in 3-5 years .
If Ohtani pitches anything like the Dodgers’ last Japanese pitching sensation they’re better off bringing Don Stanhouse out of retirement, fitting him with Dodger blue and propping him up on mound.
God a lot of people offend so easily it’s amazing….. Someone makes a not so positive comment and you lash out at that person. If someone here is related to him, I apologize. If not, chill out. No I’m not a Yankees fan in the least, his not wanting to play second fiddle to another Asian star and his demands to be able hit (let’s see if you can hit major league pitching first huh?) really rubs me the wrong way. You’ve done nothing to warrant anything like this…So I want a player to fail? Who cares? The location of where he wants to play doesn’t bother me in the least, players do that all the time. I should say “proven” players do that is…next time I’ll be specific so as not to make anyone soooo upset…..mind boggling
Again Jeremy, where is the demand? Who needs the chill pill?
MLB.com: When you come to MLB, how important is it for you to continue both hitting and pitching?
Ohtani: I’m not really sure how the American managers and scouts would rate my hitting compared to the way I’m rated in Japan. I would like to do both if I can.
Read his words instead of believing every rumor…
MLB.com: Would it be better for you and Darvish to be on separate teams
Ohtani: Being on the same team would be great, but being on separate teams would also be great, because I would get to face him.
Seems it’s not Ohtani that has issues.
it’s the padres, they fill off every box easily. Small market, west coast, no famous japanese players, it’s ay too easy.
Preller played this smart.
Aside from signing Yu Darvish when with the Rangers Preller almost signed him out of high school.
Brought in Logan White from the dodgers who has a relation with him as well
Seiichiro Nagakagi, former athletic trainer for the Fighters, is now the Padres’ Director of Applied Sports Science
Acey Kohorogi works with the Padres as an advisor for their Pacifc Rim operations. During his time with the Dodgers, he helped facilitate the signing and integration of such Asian players as Hideo Nomo, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Chan Ho Park and Hong-Chih Kuo.
Hideo Nomo works for the Padres. and Takashi Saito works for the Padres as well.
Padres manager Andy Green spent a year playing in Japan in 2007 for – you guessed it – the Nippon Ham Fighters, so he’s familiar with the culture and the types of adjustments a foreigner will have to make.
Preller has laid the groundwork to entice Ohtani pretty well.
Might be a stretch, but if Preller were to sign Darvish somehow Padres would probably be the favorites to land Ohtani in a land slide.
Isn’t Nomo’s son Ohtani’s translator, too? So one more connection
Takahiro Nomo has been Fighters’ team translator for 3 years. Haven’t seen that he’s been hired to be Otani’s personal translator.
Add to your list that the Fighters played the last two spring trainings in the Padres/Mariners complex in Peoria.
Means nothing.
hahaha nothing or something? LC stands for lost cause
Otani playing some games at a particular spring training facility is irrelevant. It’s more of a coincidence. Sure he’s familiar with where the pisser is, but I hardly believe his familiarity with a spring ballpark will factor in his decision to relocate his life to a new country, especially when so few games and so little time is spent in Peoria.
Nice to see the Angels are still in the mix for Ohtani. If he decides to sign with the Angels he would have one of the best up the middle defenses behind him with Trout in CF, Simmons at SS, Maldenado catching and a new 2nd baseman ( Gordon maybe ) .
Also because of the injuries from the starting staff from last year he could be part of a 6 man rotation seeing how no starter projects to pitch more than 150 innings in 2018.
Richards
Ohtani
Skaggs
Shoemaker
Heaney
Bridwell or Ramirez
With over 50 million in salary available this year the Angels can add a 3rd & 2nd baseman either by trade or free agent to make a run at the West in 2018, 2019 & 2020 while Trout is still under contract. Maybe even add a top of the order pitcher like Cobb from the Rays..
Pujols has had over a year now to recover from his last surgery, hopefully he will be able to play 1B at least half the games and allow Ohtami to DH the games he pitches and the games Pujols playes 1B. Win Win ……
I’d say by likelihood
Mariners – Huge Japanese population and proximity being a factor plus excellent work transitioning players from Japan. Plus being looking at as “the missing piece” is probably very flattering to Ohtani.
Dodgers – Best team on the list. If winning is priority they’ll offer the best chance long and short term. No idea if Maeda’s presence makes a difference though.
Angels – Having so many superstars on one team definitely would attract attention. Plus it’s one of two teams that he is the guaranteed ace on (say Richards if you want, I’m not buying it)
Padres – History of two-way players definitely a plus. Preller seems like a showman which may impress Ohtani. If they can convince him they’re on the rise…He would definitely be the most notable player in San Diego immediately.
Rangers – The most money to spend and a history of Japanese players. Unfortunately not all have them have been very successful. Last seasons poor showing doesn’t help.
Giants – Once again, recent failures as a team could be seen as a concern. I’m skeptical of NL compatibility either way. No one really talks about Ohtani’s defense. If he thinks a team is declining I doubt he would show much interest though.
Cubs – NL questions + distance from Japan + a lack of success with Japanese players (Fukudome is the only one I remember being decent in a cubs uniform.) Just seems unrealistic to me.
Yes but Los Angeles has a much bigger Japanese and Asian presence than Seattle, plus we are in a win now mode till trouts contract expires and with scioscia possibly on the way out we may have a new coach that would possibly consider a 6 man rotation in which would allow all angels starters to have an extra rest day and give ohtani a few at bats if wanted
Japanese AND Asian? You think someone from India or a Filipino is going to get excited about a player, simply because he’s Asian?
FYI, Chicago is only marginally a longer flight from Japan than is Southern California. Cubs’ management has history implementing transition with Matsusaka and on the north side of Chicago Ohtani can catch a lot of great Pokémon!
Why would Otani send out applications for all 30 teams to answer when its pretty obvious he already knew which teams he was interested in? This was a bad PR move by his agents. Can you imagine the booing he will be subjected to in places like New York, Boston, etc? Why mislead so many fans?
How is it obvious?
No fans were misled who didn’t totally go looking for it.
And don’t get me started with any fan who boos a player because he had the nerve to sign with another team.
Totally agree with saveferris
Totally agree with BlueSkyLA, more fans annoyed because their team isn’t in the running.
Aside from Cashman’s CYA rationailization upon learning his team was eliminated, can someone point me to a statement made by Ohtani (or his representatives) in which he says he does not want to play in a large market?
He never has. Nor has he said west coast, a winning team, a large Japanese population or many of the other thing people keep posting. There are plenty of interviews with him yet everyone banks their hopes on “so and so said he heard that Ohtani wants this”.
I prefer to listen to the man and take him at his word.
Yeah man, I’m really sorry for saying I hope he fails based on rumors and media speculation. I mean, athletes have never been known to lie or just say what people want to hear. Never. Ever. My bad.
Thank you norcalblue! So annoying no one else gets that only Cashman said it!
I think he’ll sign with the Padres.
He’s going to the A’s
All he wants is playing time and madden will give him that and if not he’s bouta go to a non contender so he can be the only star there
Think he’s going back to Japan
I think he ends up with the Padres. I know they are so bad but he has so many ties to them that it makes sense. And it gives him an opportunity to get comfortable in the MLB before he has to pitch in high-pressure situations