Beat writer reveals why Yankees won't sign Shohei Ohtani

It appears the New York Yankees won't be signing free-agent two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in free agency because the two-time American League Most Valuable Player isn't interested in featuring for the Bronx Bombers. 

"The Yankees made contact with Shohei Ohtani’s representation early into the free-agent signing period just for due diligence sake," Yankees beat writer Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com wrote for a piece published Tuesday. "The Yankees read the tea leaves. They knew the reigning American League MVP didn’t want to play for them when he first came over from Japan six years ago and they know nothing’s changed."

It was believed as far back as last winter that Ohtani wasn't keen on calling New York home, but that didn't prevent Yankees captain Aaron Judge from making it known during the spring he would've welcomed the generational talent as a teammate. One Japanese baseball insider later hinted Ohtani could consider joining either the Yankees or New York Mets in free agency, but that was before Yankees reporter Chris Kirschner of The Athletic said in June that team owner Hal Steinbrenner wouldn't want to add such an expensive piece to what was the AL's most-expensive payroll in 2023. 

Ahead of the weekend, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan reported the bidding for Ohtani "could reach $600M." At that same time, Passan named the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays as realistic landing spots for the 29-year-old. 

Miller added that "the Yankees never seriously entertained making an offer [for Ohtani] because they hope to add $60M to next season’s payroll" by signing Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and possibly trading for San Diego Padres All-Star outfielder Juan Soto. 

As for Ohtani's future, one AL executive told Miller on Monday he believes the phenom "is going to the Dodgers, but the big talk right now is the Blue Jays." Ohtani will spend next season serving as a designated hitter after he underwent surgery in September to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow that will keep him from pitching until the spring of 2025. 

"They also know that Giancarlo Stanton is locked into their DH spot and that’ll be Ohtani’s only position until he pitches again in 2025," Miller noted about the Yankees.