St. Louis Cardinals rumors: Jordan Montgomery reunion, Julio Urias interest, Shohei Ohtani link?

St. Louis Cardinals Rumors: Is Shohei Ohtani suddenly affordable?

After suffering a torn UCL on Wednesday afternoon, Shohei Ohtani's free-agency value went down significantly. Once deemed a likely $600 million pitcher, there's no guarantee he'll even crack $500 million in guaranteed money.

As ESPN's Buster Olney suggested on social media, "the context for Shohei Ohtani's baseball future has changed completely. There's just no way to know how much he'll pitch in the years ahead -- and it may be that the pitching side of his forthcoming contract will need to include incentives based on starts/appearances."

Were this to prove true, it opens up Ohtani's market to more teams that could be able to afford him. Ohtani as a hitter alone would still cost teams upwards of $350 million long term, if not more. Ohtani as a two-way player costs $600 million, which is a non starter for a club like the St. Louis Cardinals.

If Mozeliak and convince Ohtani down to the $350 million-$400 million mark, plus incentives if he is able to return to the mound as a pitcher, he becomes far more affordable, especially given the marketing surplus that Ohtani brings with him. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic argues that Ohtani is still a $500 million player, and assuming he isn't carrying water for Ohtani's agent, that's a worthwhile piece to read.

"Wednesday’s distressing news will bring a certain sobriety to Ohtani’s free-agent process that might have been lacking otherwise. Teams cannot pay him as a two-way superstar when his future dominance as a pitcher is much more in question. But they still can pay him for who he is virtually certain to remain, one of the sport’s top offensive players. That’s worth $500 million. At least that," Rosenthal writes.

Rosenthal made the argument that Juan Soto's $440 million deal should be the benchmark, with Ohtani receiving opt-outs and potential incentives in his deal should he pitch again. Sound familiar?

Ohtani's future as a pitcher was always a little murky. Just how long was he going to keep up this pace? Perhaps -- if there's a bright side of all this -- it's that teams have some form of clarity.