MLB Insider Says It's a "Long Shot" Shohei Ohtani Signs with Cubs
With the MLB winter meetings quickly approaching, rumors continue to swirl surrounding the free agency and future of two-time American League MVP Shohei Ohtani.
A handful of teams, including the Chicago Cubs, have been linked to the 29 year-old superstar. However, one top MLB insider believes it's a "long shot" that Ohtani, who spent the first six years of his Major League career with the Los Angeles Angels, leaves the Left Coast.
In the most recent episode of the Jack Vita Show, longtime national baseball writer for USA Today Bob Nightengale assessed the free agent market for Ohtani.
Nightengale has the Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers as the frontrunners to land Ohtani, with the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and the Cubs also in the mix.
“I think the Giants will probably offer him the most money, but he likes to hit, so I’m not sure if he wants to hit in San Francisco," Nightengale said. "That’s why Kris Bryant turned them down, Aaron Judge turned them down. Giancarlo Stanton vetoed a trade, so it’s tough to get a big slugger that wants to go to San Francisco. The two dark horse candidates of course are the Cubs and the Texas Rangers. The Cubs have been perceived as a dark horse candidate all season long, by Angels people. They think they’re going to come hard. We’ll see. There’s the pitching factor. You want to know when you have a game. You don’t want to have a rain delay or a rainout. You don’t have those rainouts in Southern California. If he goes to Texas, it’s a controlled environment.”
Nightengale notes that a very regimented and routine-oriented Ohtani might not be up for pitching in a ballpark that welcomes rainouts and rain delays, each of which would throw off his pitching schedule. April and May can be very rainy and chilly in Chicago. In Southern California, the weather has a tendency to stay a comfortable 75 to 80 degrees. The Rangers play their home games at Globe Life Field, which has a retractable roof.
Ohtani will bring incredible monetary value to whichever team he signs with, and the Cubs are expected to make him a handsome offer.
“I think they’ll throw the big bucks at him," Nightengale said. "Everybody knows what he means at the gates. He’s probably worth $20-25 million a year off the field as far as just the brand, licensing, merchandise, so I think that’s where the Dodgers pretty much want to buy the brand and become Japan’s team, where everybody’s wearing a Dodgers cap over there. I’m sure the Cubs are looking at him the same way. I just think the weather factor in Chicago is going to be a hindrance. If they played in a dome or a retractable roof it would be different, like in Texas. But I think it’s a long shot to think that he’d leave Southern California."
As for whether Ohtani will choose the Dodgers or the Angels, each team will come with its pros and cons.
The Dodgers will offer Ohtani a greater chance at winning, but would he be granted the same level of privacy that he values in Anaheim?
“I just think he wants to win, he wants to be comfortable, he wants to know what the parameters are," Nightengale said. "In Anaheim, he only spoke on the days after he pitched, so he hasn’t spoken to the Angels reporters since August 9. He did not speak after he won the MVP either. So I think he’ll want to say, 'What are the guidelines here? Do I have to talk every day? I want some privacy involved, too.”
Ohtani has given off little to no indication that he desires to play in a major market, with all eyes on him. Nor has he shown any interest in the nightlife that a city like New York or Chicago has to offer.
“He’s very comfortable [in Anaheim], obviously," Nightengale said. "Guys enjoy playing there. Yeah, sure, they wish they won more, but you can say that about a lot of places. He’s a homebody. I mean, he just goes to the stadium, goes back to his condo, and that’s it. He rarely ever goes out to eat or anything like that. So, he’s not a limelight guy whatsoever.”
Another perk of playing on the West Coast is its proximity to Japan. Put simply, there are more Japanese people on the West Coast than there are in the Midwest. It's easier for Japanese fans to fly in to see him play in Los Angeles than it would be for them to visit Dallas or Chicago.
If Ohtani plays the majority of his games on the West Coast, his games will in theory be more accessible for Japanese fans to watch. A 7:00 p.m. start time in New York makes for a 9:00 a.m. start in Japan. If Ohtani is playing on Pacific Time, his games will start at noon Tokyo time.
Nightengale predicts that Ohtani will ink his next contract before the end of the year. Ohtani will likely meet with teams at the winter meetings, and Nightengale expects a decision to be made not long after.
“I think both guys — both Yamamoto and Ohtani — will be [signed] by the end of December," Nightengale said. "Ohtani’s pretty much got to know who’s involved and who’s willing to give up what. And it’s probably just going to be his call where he’s going to be most comfortable. I don’t think he’s going for the top dollar, he just wants to know what everybody’s vision is before moving forward.”
You can catch the full conversation with Bob Nightengale on the Jack Vita Show here:
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