Here's Cardinals' Updated Odds Of Landing Shohei Ohtani According To Sportsbook

The St. Louis Cardinals will be one of many franchises with some level of interest in Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani.

The superstar is set to become a free agent this winter and kick off arguably the most notable Major League Baseball sweepstakes of the century.

The 29-year-old's season has been one to marvel at, matching his spectacular career.

Ohtani hit .304 with 78 extra-base hits including 44 home runs, 95 RBIs and a 1.066 OPS in 135 games. On the mound, he posted a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA, 167-to-55 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .184 batting average against and a 1.061 WHIP in 132 innings across 23 starts.

He'll unquestionably be a hot commodity this winter, leaving the Cardinals on the outside looking in. St. Louis has +1600 odds (6.3%) to sign Ohtani according to BetOnline's Sportsbook this winter. Those odds rank No. 10 in the league, which is higher than many would expect.

The Cardinals clear No. 1 need this offseason is pitching. The organization is expected to add at least three new starters to the rotation and should allocate a hefty majority of its resources to the pitching staff.

From a long-term perspective, Ohtani makes plenty of sense but the Cardinals do not appear to have any interest in waiting another year before getting a frontline starter on the mound.

Had Ohtani stayed healthy, St. Louis would have been a sneaky underdog to obtain the two-way star but his injury puts any hope of him coming to Busch Stadium in jeopardy.

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Published Sep 20, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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