Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani was the talk of the MLB All-Star festivities in Seattle earlier this week.
The game’s best player is slated to become a free agent this winter and could very well be moved ahead of the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline if the Angels fall out of contention.
Ohtani, 29, has been linked to the typical teams. Most around the league believe that he’ll land with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Meanwhile, three other teams in that of the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and New York Yankees have been linked to the MVP frontrunner.
However, another team could very well emerge as a suitor during the winter. That comes in the form of the Seattle Mariners.
During festivities in the Pacific Northwest, Ohtani was greeted with “welcome to Seattle” chants. He touched in a Q&A with the media shortly after the fact.
“Every time I come here the fans are passionate, they’re really into the game. So, it’s very impressive. I actually spent a couple offseasons in Seattle. So I like the city. It’s beautiful,’ Shohei Ohtani told reporters through his interpreter.
Ohtani also noted that he grew up a Mariners fan in Japan. This aligns with a previous suggestion that the Mariners could in fact be in play for the superstar during MLB free agency.
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Seattle Mariners face uphill climb in Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes
Ohtani loves the city of Seattle. He grew up a Mariners fan. Another Japanese legend in that of Ichiro Suzuki starred in the Pacific Northwest for 14 Hall of Fame seasons.
However, their are obvious logistical hurdles here. Ohtani is expected to command $600-plus million in a long-term contract during free agency. Financially, it is going to be hard for Seattle to compete with the likes of the Yankees, Mets and Giants, among other big-market teams, for his services.
Seattle entered the season ranked 18th among MLB teams with a payroll of $136.07 million. For comparison’s sake, the Mets ($348.47 million), New York Yankees ($279.39), Los Angeles Dodgers ($217.47) and San Francisco Giants ($185) are well above the Mariners when it comes to budgets. In fact, Seattle has not found itself in the top half of payrolls over the past decade.
- Shohei Ohtani stats (2023): .302 average, 32 HR, 71 RBI, 1.050 OPS, 7-4 record, 3.32 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
Despite of all of this, Seattle could very well be an attractive destination for Ohtani. The idea of teaming him up with young superstar Julio Rodriguez makes sense. A lot of things could obviously have to align for this to come to fruition. That includes Mariners owner John Stanton opening up his checkbook.