Shohei Ohtani’s impending free agency is one of baseball’s major stories with a month left in the 2023 Major League Baseball season. Since Opening Day, there has been widespread guessing about the future of Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout. It has been in the spotlight ever since Ohtani suffered an elbow injury, and it has cast a shadow on the Angels’ trade deadline moves (which couldn’t have turned out worse for Los Angeles).
The two-way phenom Ohtani is on pace to win his second American League MVP award in three seasons, so he is expected to break the bank in free agency. To be the best offensive bat AND the best pitcher in the same season appeared to warrant a $500 million contract. The Angels risk losing tens of millions of dollars if Ohtani has a second Tommy John surgery due to his injury. Ohtani could have more potential suitors in the 2023–24 MLB offseason if his free agency price drops.
Los Angeles is expected to have a hard time maintaining their finest player because the Angels have not even come close to winning a title since signing Ohtani six years ago. The soon-to-be free agent has made it clear that he wants to play for a team with legitimate playoff hopes. Of course, Ohtani will factor in the size of the contract he can sign with his future organization. It is also speculated that Ohtani would rather play on the West Coast than anywhere else.
In light of this information, the following five MLB teams have the best chance of signing Ohtani as a free agent in 2023.
Chicago Cubs, No. 5After three consecutive losing seasons, the Cubs have finally turned things around. In re-entering the free agency market, Chicago signed Dansby Swanson to a seven-year, $177 million contract. It’s possible that the Cubs need to go all in during free agency and spend more than $500 million on a new franchise icon.
The Cubs have put off spending for too long in order to preserve money, and this has led to disappointing results on the field. The Chicago Cubs’ payroll isn’t even in the top 10 in baseball. The third largest media market in the country is home to the most successful franchise, so naturally they can afford to spend more. In 2019, the Cubs spent more money than any other team. Even with Ohtani’s record salary, the Cubs might not be among baseball’s top three payrolls.
The young, talented core in Chicago has all the makings of a team that can challenge for titles. The Cubs might be among the NL’s best in the second part of the decade if they re-sign Cody Bellinger and acquire Shohei Ohtani.
#4. Seattle M’sNeed an underdog to aggressively chase Ohtani in free agency? Any one of the Angels’ division rivals in the American League West would do. In the next years, the Mariners may have a chance to win the World Series if they can get a superstar player.
The Mariners aren’t as big spenders as the Angels, Astros, or Rangers. In 2023, the Mariners have the smallest payroll in the league. Some baseball fans may find it difficult to fathom Seattle spending $500 million on a single player. But Ohtani would be the one to get special treatment.
Seattle seems like a natural fit for MLB’s latest Japanese star, twenty years after signing Ichiro Suzuki. Because of his admiration for Suzuki, Ohtani is likely to view Seattle as a more alluring location than other players. Keep in mind that this is the same group who outbid the Yankees for Robinson Cano. Don’t be shocked if the Mariners break the bank to sign this generation’s Babe Ruth.
New York Mets (3)As long as Steve Cohen is the team’s owner, the Mets will consistently be among the favorites to sign the league’s top free agent. Cohen owns more than any other Major League Baseball businessman. He is determined to win at any costs and will stop at nothing to increase his chances of claiming a championship. Cohen spent more money on players for the 2023 season than any other team in the history of American professional team sports.Despite Cohen’s wealth, the 2023 Mets were not a title contender. No, not at all. Cohen wasted no time trading away some of New York’s greatest players once the high-priced squad became an embarrassment. The Mets’ front office has even suggested it will be more frugal going forward. For the Mets’ potential pursuit of Ohtani, what does this mean? Maybe not even much at all.
To the contrary, most baseball observers do not expect Cohen and the Mets to remain on the sidelines as other teams compete for the services of arguably baseball’s greatest free agent. By agreeing to pay a significant percentage of the money owed to Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in exchange for top prospects, Cohen has shown that he is ready to spend heavily as part of a rebuilding effort. Ohtani can be a star for the Mets in the rotation and the middle of the order as they push for the championship in 2025, 2026, and 2027, even if they won’t be contenders in 2024.
The Dodgers of Los Angeles
Ohtani has been connected to the Dodgers more than any other potential free agent landing point during the final season of his contract with the Angels. In light of Ohtani’s impending free agency, the Dodgers opted to keep their summer spending to a minimum. The Dodgers have spent more money than any other team over the past decade. The ownership group has proven time and again that it has no problem spending the most money in Major League Baseball to win a title.
Adding Ohtani to the Dodgers’ lineup wouldn’t be a luxury. A new slugger is needed in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are near the top of the league in the most crucial offensive categories, although it might not seem that way. The bulk of the praise should go to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. They’ve done more for the Los Angeles lineup than any other combo in Major League Baseball history.
What would happen in 2024 if Betts or Freeman had a bad year? It’s unlikely that both players will be serious MVP contenders for a third consecutive season. Next year, Betts and Freeman will turn 65 as a team. The addition of Ohtani would relieve a tremendous amount of pressure on the Dodgers’ ace player and further strengthen a title-contending lineup.
In the top spot, the San Francisco GiantsOhtani will thrive in San Francisco with the Giants. You’ll find San Francisco on the Pacific coast. The Giants have proven that they can provide a championship-caliber team for Ohtani by winning three World Series titles since 2010, the most of any MLB franchise. One key factor in Ohtani’s free agency is that San Francisco is desperate to sign a superstar.
The Giants were expected to sign their next star player during the offseason of 2022. Two attempts by San Francisco to sign a high-profile free agent both failed. Although the San Francisco Giants were his local team, Aaron Judge opted to remain with the Yankees. Before a health scare derailed the agreement, San Francisco was prepared to turn toward signing Carlos Correa.
There was no monetary constraint on either option. The Giants were prepared to offer Judge or Correa the largest contract available in free agency. The San Francisco Giants are willing to meet Ohtani’s asking price. The Giants will make every effort to sign Ohtani, but that doesn’t mean it will happen.