Shohei Ohtani Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Shohei Ohtani: Should this team currently have the best odds to sign him?

No offense to the winter meetings, but there has to be some very — and we mean very — big news looming for baseball to be getting as much attention in December as football or basketball. This was the case last offseason when Aaron Judge was "on the market" and now we are seeing the same kind of hysteria as Shohei Ohtani decides which team he will play for next.

And you know what that means: Oddsmakers are in on the action as well, telling us which teams have the best chances of signing the generational phenom. 

Legal Sports Report listed betting odds via Bet365 this week revealing which team has the best chances of signing the free agent who just spent six seasons playing for the Los Angeles Angels. But should this team really have the best odds of having him on their roster next spring?

The Los Angeles Dodgers are still the heavy -175 favorite to sign Ohtani, but some are wondering now if that 45-minute move from Angels Stadium is still the best bet. 

As Yardbarker's own David Korn wrote this week, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts got incredibly candid with the media about meeting with Ohtani last Friday. Ohtani and his camp have made it well known that he wants to keep the meetings he has with teams very private, and there is even speculation that Roberts could be in trouble with Dodgers brass for speaking on the matter. 

Since the Dodgers' higher-ups won't comment further on the matter, it's hard to tell whether it's something that would dissuade Ohtani from signing with the team. LA is viewed as a World Series contender and that could be enough to get Ohtani to sign there. Or maybe the meeting with Roberts didn't go as well as meetings with other teams did, who knows?

Speaking of other teams: Even without Roberts being too gabby, the Dodgers still have competition in the Ohtani sweepstakes. The Toronto Blue Jays are the second-favorite to land Ohtani at +160 odds and they are reportedly keeping their lips zipped when it comes to revealing whether they have met with him or not. 

And then there are still the non-World Series-contending teams making headlines because they want to build a team around Ohtani. The San Francisco Giants are still holding out hope they can rebound from the Aaron Judge fiasco last year and are listed at 8-1 odds to sign the Japanese superstar. And then there are the Chicago Cubs, who are looking to get back to the playoffs after missing out the last three seasons and are listed at 10-1 odds to add Ohtani to their roster.

Remember, it is possible these odds amount to nothing in just a few days. Ohtani is reportedly getting close to signing with a team, and there is a chance that none of these teams mentioned will sign him. 

Heck, he could surprise everyone and stay with the Angels. There are pretty favorable 7-1 odds that he stays in Anaheim, anyway.

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