Two-way star Shohei Ohtani is considered one of the best players to hit MLB free agency in the history of baseball.
Despite being limited to just hitting next season due to injury, Ohtani’s two-way ability has him as a potential all-time great. It should net him well north of a half billion dollars once he inks a contract this winter.
The obvious names have been linked to Ohtani. That includes the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, both New York teams and the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers. Obviously, the Los Angeles Angels would also like to re-sign the generational talent.
However, one surprise team in that of the San Diego Padres are in on Ohtani. Jon Heyman and the NY Post mentioned them as a possibility in a recent article.
“Padres GM A.J. Preller has little interest in trading Juan Soto and will look into a long-term contract (although that’s a long shot). While Soto isn’t likely to be traded now, that could change if the Padres sign Ohtani,” Heyman noted.
San Diego is an interesting team to be included given that several previous reports indicated that it is slated to cut payroll for the 2024 MLB season. In fact, the Padres had to take out a $50 million loan from MLB in September to cover payroll.
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San Diego had the third-highest payroll in baseball last season at $256.1 million. The team is looking to slash said payroll. Hence, Soto’s name popping up in MLB trade rumors over the past several months.
Any move to acquire Ohtani would lead to Soto being traded. Soto is slated to become a free agent after next season. He’s a Scott Boras client, meaning an extension ahead of MLB free agency next winter is unlikely to be in the cards.
While Soto won’t end up receiving a contract that Ohtani’s is going to get this winter, he’s looking at well north of $300 million on the open market. This certainly complicates things from the Padres’ perspective.
As has been noted multiple times in the past, the Dodgers are seen as favorites to land Ohtani. It does seem that he prefers to remain on the west coast. It’s in this that every California-based MLB team outside of the Oakland Athletics are now in on him.