After this season, the competition to recruit Ohtani Shohei (29, LA Angels), who will qualify as a free agent (FA), is already fiercely developing behind the scenes.
Ohtani is being valued at an unprecedented contract size of $500 million, but the major leagues don’t seem to care. Ohtani-class players are trying to make a justification and recruit them.
On the 27th (Korean time), the American sports media ‘FOX Sports’ announced the ranking in order of the clubs with the highest possibility of recruiting Ohtani.
The New York Mets, which are showing a wide range of moves under the leadership of billionaire owner Steve Cohen, were also selected as the team with the highest possibility of recruiting Ohtani. ‘Sportsnet New York’ said, ‘Steve Cohen’s owner has been openly telling senior officials at the club that Ohtani should be recruited’. Already spent $491.1 million on this Stove League alone. Although the contract was canceled due to an ankle problem found in the medical test, if the 12-year, $315 million contract agreed with Carlos Correa was agreed, it would have cost more than 800 million dollars, or 1 trillion won in Korean currency, this winter alone. I couldn’t dare imagine the scale of the new big hand.
‘FOX Sports’ said, ‘Ohtani will need a contract larger than Correa’s $315 million, but he will probably be committed to securing the biggest star right now. The top rotation of the Mets is made up of short-term contract players with high annual average value, but Ohtani can make an exception with long-term contracts,’ he predicted, not losing his status as a ‘new big hand’.
However, as a team that will strongly jump in the battle for Otani with the Mets, he picked the LA Dodgers, the ‘original big hand’. The Dodgers have also been cited as a team that will not back down from the race to sign Ohtani. Maybe they desperately want Ohtani more than Mets.
The Dodgers have recently been losing their status as a ‘big hand’. He shrank a lot because of the luxury tax. Last year, key players such as Corey Seager (Texas), Max Scherzer (New York Mets), and Kenley Jansen (Boston) left, and this year, Trey Turner (Philadelphia), Justin Turner (Boston), and Tyler Anderson (LA Angels) became free agents. Cody Bellinger, former MVP who left and showed no sign of rebound, was also released.
Of course, they tried to maintain the status quo by signing large contracts with Freddie Freeman and Trevor Bauer, but they weren’t actively trying to fill the void like in the past. He tried to fill the void with farm systems and other internal resources he had grown without bleeding.
In the end, 메이저놀이터 it is analyzed that this tightening of the belt is a paving stone for the recruitment of Ohtani, but the Dodgers do not deny it. You may have forgotten, but the Dodgers is a big market club that used to play the role of ‘a big hand in the original’. When I open my wallet, I open it and bring it.
However, it is highly likely that the luxury tax rate will not be restored because of Bauer’s annual salary of $ 22.5 million, which was released even though he was suspended from business trips for sexual assault and the punishment was reduced after appeal. Even so, the Dodgers’ will doesn’t seem to be broken.
‘FOX Sports’ said, ‘It looks like we won’t be able to reset the luxury tax penalty as expected, but the reason we haven’t acquired top-tier listings in the offseason free agent market and have significantly reduced our spending is due to our desire to go all-in for much bigger assets in 2024.’ Explained. ‘Greater assets’ means Ohtani after all.
“Walker Buehler is recovering from injury, and Julio Urias and Clayton Kershaw will also become free agents. The Dodgers are ready to provide whatever Ohtani needs,’ and the Dodgers’ will, saying, ‘It’s not too far to drive from Ohtani’s current mouth.’ geographical advantage, etc.
Does Ohtani, a super-large product that overwhelms the league with two-handed work, makes the ‘original big hand’, who hesitated because of the luxury tax, stretch again?