Shohei Ohtani is the biggest bargain in MLB, but his cheap price won’t last for much longer.
The 27-year-old Angels phenom is making $5.5M this season and then heads to arbitration for 2023, which is his final season before free agency. When he hits free agency, he’ll be set to possibly break some records with his compensation.
Ohtani has the value of a $20M pitcher and $20M hitter, not to mention what a marketing boost he gives to teams. He will likely command over $50M per season.
But there is one thing Ohtani apparently wants in his next deal.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman published a column on Thursday regarding Ohtani. Heyman says the word is Ohtani wants “a very long deal.”
There are some players, like Trevor Bauer, who have been happy taking short-term deals in order to maximize their annual value. Ohtani apparently would prefer to have some long-term security, which teams don’t often like giving to pitchers.
The Angels may have unfortunately boxed themselves in when it comes to Ohtani. Between what they owe to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, signing Ohtani to a deal he deserves wouldn’t leave them with much money to build the rest of their team. But can they really afford to lose such a dominant two-way player who just won AL MVP? They may have some tough calls to make.
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