3 best Shohei Ohtani destinations that meet all of his wishlist items
By Mark Powell
What’s that, you want more Shohei Ohtani trade talk? Lucky for you, I’ve got this covered from all angles.
For the most part, Shohei Ohtani’s upcoming free agency demands have remained a secret. That’s credit to Ohtani’s agency and his camp, as most star free agents give a tell or two during the regular season.
It’s not secret that Ohtani will demand a large sum of money, and that the Angels seem unlikely to match. The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have long been considered two of the primary destinations for Ohtani, but both feature a flaw or two. Ohtani is said to value three factors above all else:
The Dodgers fail that test, as a private lifestyle is harder to achieve in Los Angeles. Ohtani knows this better than most, as the Angels are at least partly affiliated with the LA area. The Mets, meanwhile, are not on the West Coast, and thus far Ohtani has failed to give teams in the Eastern time zone much consideration.
The Dodgers will be favored to land Ohtani for obvious reasons, but what if he takes these three factors to heart? Thankfully, several locations live up to the standard.
Shohei Ohtani rumors: Why not the Seattle Mariners?
With the MLB All-Star Game in Seattle, Ohtani is getting an up-front-and-personal look at what it would be like to play for the Mariners. Seattle has already embraced one Japanese star in Ichiro Suzuki, and would surely do the same for Ohtani. Jerry DiPoto is also among the best general managers in the sport, and can find a way to make room on the M’s roster for the best player in baseball.
Seattle is out of the spotlight in the Pacific Northwest, and offers Ohtani the chance to win for years to come. Several members of the Mariners’ core, including Julio Rodriguez, are signed long-term. DiPoto hasn’t been afraid to make a splash in the past, and adding Ohtani would surely be the next in a long line of decision to make the Mariners perennial World Series contenders.
The question remains, though, whether M’s ownership is willing to spend up to $600 million on one player. That number would clearly get in the way of negotiations.