Report: In the crazy bidding war to secure a two-way superstar like Shohei Ohtani, team talks have been kept secret.
If Shohei Ohtani’s first few days as a free agent have been quieter than you thought they would be, don’t worry—that’s on purpose.
On top of that, players and managers sometimes leak information about free-agent interest in order to put pressure on other parties and gain power in negotiations.
Jeff Passan of ESPN says that Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo want to keep things quiet so much that they might punish teams that leak information about the dating process.
“If visits among Ohtani as well as a team are disclosed publicly, it is going to be held toward the team, which means that circles will become tiny and tightly,” Passan said on Tuesday.
It makes sense for Ohtani and Balelo to want to keep information close to their chests. Because of this, Ohtani is probably sick of the constant rumors and attention that surrounded what will likely be known as his last season in the Los Angeles Angels.
When you have an unusual person, you get an unusual situation. Ohtani doesn’t need those kinds for tricks because he’s probably the best player in baseball history.
Shohei Ohtani is now a free agent and can sign with any team. The window for signing him opened five days following the World Series finished, but don’t expect the most anticipated player trade in MLB history to end any time soon.
It takes a long time for all the teams that want the mutual superstar and world icon to decide that they want him to line up for them for the next ten years.
This week, there will be a lot of talk about Ohtani at the GM meetings, where his lawyer, Nez Balelo, will be listening to people from the front office make their first pitches.
This off-season, the gossip mill should be very active. Every week, then every day as the winter meetings get near, big numbers are going to be thrown around.
I’m really interested in where Ohtani ends up because, to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ohtani made a choice that shocked everyone.
I might be foolish, but I think Ohtani cares more about winning than making money. Numerous rumors say that he will try to get every dollar possible on the free agent market.
However, just a few teams are really in the running, and after watching him play his whole career, I can’t help but think that Ohtani isn’t motivated by “normal” money concerns.
When he left Japan at age 23, he “cost” himself a lot of money in 2017. Players younger than 25 were called “international amateurs” by the CBA.
This meant that teams could only offer the amount of money in their foreign bonus pool. There was no open market in which teams could offer any amount of money they wanted. There was no battle of the bids.
Above all else, Ohtani wants to play at his best level. That was more important to him than money, which explains why he left at 23 instead of 25.
Plus, he has a lot of money from partnerships and other sources besides the Angels’ money as a player. Why did he become so focused on making money all of a sudden? That doesn’t make sense.
This week, all 30 general managers of Major League Baseball got together in Scottsdale for the league’s GM meetings.
They are probably talking about the Ohtani race behind closed doors. The winning team could win more than $500 million.
But when people have asked about the possibly unique bidding, they have been given careful answers.