OK, baseball fans, if you don't pledge your allegiance to the Texas Rangers or the Arizona Diamondbacks, it's now the moment you've been waiting for since September-ish: Shohei Ohtani is a free agent. And so are some other players.
Aug 29, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani looks on before the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports - 21338858OK, baseball fans, if you don’t pledge your allegiance to the Texas Rangers or the Arizona Diamondbacks, it’s now the moment you’ve been waiting for since September-ish: Shohei Ohtani is a free agent. And so are some other players.
There are complications to the lust, of course. Ohtani’s elbow gave way in the second half this year, and he won’t be providing the pitching side of his act until 2025. There are legitimate, if depressingly cynical, questions to ask about his future on the mound. The next time he pitches in the majors, he will be beyond his 30th birthday. No one else has managed to perform his rigorous, borderline superhuman schedule at any age; it will only get tougher for him to maintain.
Yamamoto's youth, along with the improvements around scouting and pitch data that likely give MLB teams more confidence in how his stuff will play in America, will drive a bidding war that could draw in just about every big-market team. New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman: Masahiro Tanaka's seven-year, $155 million deal with the Yankees, also signed ahead of his age-25 season, is the baseline here.
Ultimately, he reigns as the best non-Ohtani free agent with an MLB track record because compared to the other options at the top of this class, Nola looks like an unshakeable metronome keeping time via a direct line to the rotation of the Earth. His velocity has remained steady, he still wields a phenomenal curveball, and only Gerrit Cole and Sandy Alcantara have soaked up more innings the past three seasons. The main concern, however, dovetails with that.
Still, Bellinger is only 28, and he is one of the only premium position players on the market. Even with a serious step back on offense, his center-field defense could make a difference for a contender.: Bellinger could certainly make the case that he should beat George Springer's six-year, $150 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, and it wouldn't be a huge surprise if the top bidder for his services ultimately approaches $200 million in a brutal offseason for clubs seeking hitters.
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