Why New York Mets didn't pursue Shohei Ohtani in free agency

The Mets' front office didn't even try to sign Shohei Ohtani two offseasons ago for one clear reason.

Oct 25, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after fouling a ball off of his foot in the eighth inning during game two of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

On October 28, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani started in Game 4 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays and pitched six innings.

This came less than 24 hours after Ohtani reached base nine times during an 18-inning Game 3 contest. He hit two home runs, two doubles, and then was walked five straight times in that game. These are the sort of insane stat lines that only Ohtani can produce right now, as his success as a two-way player is simply something modern baseball has never seen before.

Read more: Scouts get blunt about who Mets top trade target should be

It's also the reason why many believe that Ohtani already deserves to be considered the best player of all time. Regardless, Ohtani is certainly on track to be deemed baseball's GOAT. And given that Ohtani is still on year two of the 10-year, $700 million contract he signed with the Dodgers in December of 2023, it seems unlikely that Ohtani will be playing anywhere other than Los Angeles for the rest of his baseball career.

Oct 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) looks on before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the 2025 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Insider Reveals Why Mets Didn't Court Shohei Ohtani in Free Agency

A fascinating aspect of Ohtani's contract is that $68 million of his $70 million annual salary is deferred to be paid from 2034 to 2043, which means that he's only seeing $2 million of that money each year for the first 10 years of his contract.

In an October 29 article, New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed that several teams (the Angels and Cubs, specifically) that were believed to be in play for Ohtani when he was a free agent two offseasons ago balked at the idea of this deferred contract. Therefore, they fell out of contention in signing him.

The same can't be said for the New York Mets or the cross-town Yankees. Heyman noted that neither of these teams even tried pursuing Ohtani when he was a free agent because Ohtani had said that he couldn't see himself in New York when he initially came to MLB in 2017. Since there was no indication that this sentiment had changed, neither New York team made a real effort to sign him the second time around, when he eventually joined the Dodgers.

https://t.co/RremefkiJ2 More MLB notes: Angels and Cubs made curious call on Shohei. Did Mets/Yanks ever have a shot?

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 29, 2025

While Mets fans might be lamenting this, the good news is that David Stearns and the front office didn't fumble their pursuit of Ohtani like some other front offices did. Instead, they never had a shot of signing him in the first place.

Perhaps that can be some form of solace for the Mets fans who have to watch Ohtani shine in the World Series right now, and can't help but wonder what he could be doing in Queens.