4 Shohei Ohtani suitors and what their best contract offer would look like

Shohei Ohtani is set to become a free agent after 2023. Who are his best suitors and what kind of deal could they offer?

The great two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani might become the highest-paid athlete ever. The Japanese sensation’s contract with the Los Angeles Angels up at the end of the year, he’s set to hit free agency as the most coveted commodity in MLB history. He could possibly earn a contract in the range of $500 million!

It is crazy to think that an athlete could ever make that much money, but Ohtani is undoubtedly the most skilled athlete we’ve ever seen on a baseball field — and perhaps overall. Some of his potential free agency suitors are fairly obvious, while some teams could be dark horses to land Ohtani.

Here are some speculated demands for Ohtani in a potential contract:

• $500M total value
• A chance to win a world series
• West Coast
  • Preferably a Japanese influence

So which teams are in play? What will their contract offer look like? Let’s take a look at four teams definitely in play.

Shohei Ohtani suitors: Los Angeles Dodgers

There is a reason that the Los Angeles Dodgers decided not to go all-in again and have another monstrous offseason. The Dodgers elected to let Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger, Tommy Kahnle, Craig Kimbrel, and Joey Gallo walk away for the purpose of chasing Ohtani next offseason.

The Dodgers wanted to reset the luxury tax after multiple years of being taxed for being over the competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold. Ohtani would easily fit in this situation as the money is always there for LA and it is a prime west coast team always looking to win.

Their current payroll is at $217 million after the costly subtractions of the aforementioned six names. They have space for Ohtani and more — so much that they would even be below the CBT “Cohen Tax” threshold, even if he was signed for $60 million per year.

Ohtani could definitely get up to around $42 million per season for 11 years with a total value of $546 million. There is also a good chance that this deal could be heavily frontloaded and with deferred money, as the Dodgers would likely be over the tax for a good amount of time. Front loading would help minimize the taxes, as being over the CBT thresholds for multiple consecutive years increases the tax rate.