Shohei Ohtani opened up proceedings to all 30 MLB teams, having the interested ones answer questions pertaining to their location, culture, and more, to get a better sense of where he might want to sign. He’s now narrowed his list of potential suitors down from 30 to seven, with Ken Rosenthal confirming that group on Monday morning.
Shohei Ohtani probably won’t sign with your team
Monday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at Shohei Ohtani narrowing down the field for his services.
Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images
The Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Mariners, Giants, Rangers, and Cubs are the clubs Ohtani will meet with — the rest are out of the running. That’s heavily West Coast, which might make you wonder why Ohtani bothered to ask all interested teams to sell him on a meeting if it was so clear he was going to be West Coast bound.
Well, for one, Chicago and Arlington, Texas aren’t on the West Coast, so that guarantee is right out the window. Second, this was every teams’ chance to prove that they had something to offer Ohtani — comfort, competitiveness, culture, whatever the Japanese pitcher-slash-hitter is looking for. The Rangers and Cubs seem to have passed that test to get lumped in with all the West Coast teams, while ones like the Yankees failed.
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Hmm. I’m not sure why Ohtani wasn’t interested in New York. If only there were some hint available to shed light on this.
It’s not just the Yankees, of course. Red Sox fans were predictably pouty about being ignored by Ohtani. And more teams’ fans will continue to act entitled and as if they have a reason to be offended. But hey, this is going to happen when Ohtani’s free agency is set up so that it’s not actually free agency, where money has any say.
Everything here is culture and location, and he chose seven teams that he thinks will fit his particular bill. Yours wasn’t one of them, and your embarrassing reaction to that news says a lot more about you than it does about Ohtani.
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What you need to know about Shohei Ohtani
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