Hall of Famer links Angels' Shohei Ohtani with NL East team

Former New York Mets pitcher and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez became the latest member of the MLB community to link Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani with the Amazins. 

As shared by Sam Neumann of The Comeback, Martinez appeared on TBS' MLB pregame show on Tuesday and recalled a conversation he had with big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen at Citi Field. 

"And I said to him, 'Are you optimistic that you can get this team to go and get a championship?' And he said, 'Yes, of course. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to have a team out there that can win it,'" Martinez explained about that chat. "And I said, 'It’s not whatever it takes, it’s go and take it.' And he says, 'Yes, I’m gonna do that!' I’m gonna trust him to do that." 

Martinez is hardly the first person to suggest Cohen essentially could present Ohtani with a blank check assuming the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player reaches free agency after the season, as expected. The Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers have repeatedly been mentioned as favorites to land Ohtani, and one in-the-know individual made it known last month that he thinks Ohtani's camp could "use" the Mets so that the 28-year-old ultimately receives what he wants from the Dodgers. 

The Angels began Wednesday at 32-30 and likely will only make Ohtani available this summer if they're considered out of the playoff hunt by next month's All-Star break. It's believed Ohtani could earn up to $600M total from his next MLB contract, and Martinez indicated Cohen would match such an asking price after building baseball's most expensive roster.

"And for a guy that has put so much money into this team, leaves no doubts that he is able to do whatever he wants to do and he’s gonna be able to do it if he has the opportunity," Martinez added about Cohen. "So, don’t disqualify Ohtani being chased by the Mets." 

Ohtani's desire to win coupled with the state of the Mets could impact Cohen's chances of convincing baseball's unicorn to relocate to Queens. The Mets went into Wednesday night at 30-31, and Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post wrote following the club's 6-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday that "there is little reason to believe" New York will turn things around anytime soon.