Shohei Ohtani News: MLB Legend Chimes in on Angels Superstar Impending Free Agency
Shohei Ohtani's impending free agency is the biggest story in baseball right now. At the end of this season, assuming Ohtani doesn't sign an extension before then (he won't), the greatest bidding war in sports history will commence.
No one knows what Ohtani's contract will look like, but agents and executives around the game have baseball have given their best guesses. Many of them think it'll be upwards of $500 million, and MLB legend Manny Ramirez agrees. Here's what he said about Ohtani's upcoming free agency:
"I think Shohei Ohtani is worth $500 million," Ramirez said. "He's a phenomenon never seen before in the MLB history. He can do it all. I would pay him $250 million for what he can do as a pitcher and the other $250 million for his quality as a hitter."
When you think about the contracts that players received this offseason, the $250 million for each of his skills isn't crazy. Justin Verlander signed a contract with an average annual value over $43 million, while Jacob DeGrom signed one with an AAV of $37 million. Last year, Ohtani was better than DeGrom — finishing on the All-MLB First Team as a pitcher — and has proven to be more durable over the last two seasons.
Then you look at Ohtani as a hitter. While he isn't providing the fielding that many of today's stars give, he still compares as a hitter. Last year, he hit more home runs than Corey Seager, Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado and Jose Ramirez, and had a faster time to first than every American League hitter. Here's a crazy statistic to appreciate his greatness.
So while no one in North American sports history has ever commanded a contract worth at least $500 million, no one in North American sports history has brought the two-way prowess that Ohtani brings. If there was ever someone to break the record of a sports contract, he would be the one.
