Shohei Ohtani does not accept Angels’ unofficial offer of over $43 million…possibility of a trade looms high

Last Updated on 07/24/2022 by てんしょく飯

On July 21 (Japan time), Shohei Ohtani of the Angels won the “Best Male Athlete” award at the ESPY Awards, which are known as the Academy Awards in the US sports world.

This is the first time in 23 years since Mark McGuire won the award in 1999, and of course the first time for a Japanese male to win the award. Despite the Angels’ poor performance, Otani’s “award rush” is likely to continue this year.

　What will be interesting to watch is Ohtani’s future.

Ohtani will become a free agent (FA) in the off-season of 2023 and will be free to sign with any team. However, the Angels, who cannot win without Ohtani’s hitting and pitching, would of course like to keep him.

However, unlike Japan, the MLB is a very strict game, and even if he is the “face” of the team, he could be traded without mercy.

In the majors, it is quite common for a player to be traded in the final year of his contract or the year before. Usually, players who have become stars on mid-tier teams are sold to rich teams before they are asked to make huge salaries.

Also, in cases like this year’s Angels, who gave up on making the postseason early and are starting to build a team for next year and beyond, they often trade big-name players for promising young players.

It is quite possible that Otani will be traded before FA.

(A local reporter) “There is also this story to support this.

The Angels unofficially offered Otani a contract extension this offseason and during camp. The amount was higher than the current MLB high, about $43 million for Max Scherzer of the Mets.

However, Otani and his agent, Nez Benello, did not immediately jump at the offer.

They were skeptical about whether they should stay with the Angels and whether the Angels could become a “winning team. In the end, the idea was dropped without any leaks to the outside world.

The team then went on a 14-game losing streak and seemed to be on the verge of missing the postseason. It seems that the team is looking for a last-minute trade with another team to bolster the next generation’s strength.

In any case, once the 2023 off-season arrives, there will be an ultra-high price war for Otani,” said a source from a major advertising agency.

Which team will Ohtani play for in the second half of the season? The trade deadline, August 3, is already less than two weeks away.