Mets legend shares interesting comments on Angels' Shohei Ohtani

The Mets famously retired Keith Hernandez's No. 17 last summer, and Hernandez has made it known he's not interested in sharing that jersey number with even a phenom such as Ohtani. Gooden feels differently regarding the Mets potentially acquiring a 29-year-old who likely is well on his way toward earning a second Most Valuable Player Award in three seasons. 

"Ohtani is a great guy," Gooden added during his comments. "I think he’ll fit great in New York. He’s welcome to No. 16 if he likes. I'll be the first to admit when [he] first came to the States I didn’t think [it would] last. Eventually, you want to make this guy a pitcher because you know, normally everybody wants pitchers. But what he's doing for both ends is amazing. I think he’s a once-in-a-generation type player and it's fun to see. So, hopefully, we'll get to see that on a regular basis here in New York."

The Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers are repeatedly mentioned among favorites to land Ohtani and former New York starter Pedro Martinez revealed last month he believes big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen will do "whatever it takes" to turn the club into a winner as soon as possible. Ohtani remains on track to reach free agency after the season but could be targeted by the New York Yankees ahead of the trade deadline if the Angels decide over the next week to become sellers.

Gooden acknowledged he thinks the current Mets "need a shot in the arm" to avoid going down as arguably the most disappointing squad in franchise history. With that said, there's zero indication Cohen will mortgage the future to merely rent Ohtani with the Amazins at 45-50 after 95 contests. 

The Mets entered their Thursday afternoon home matchup against the Chicago White Sox seven games back in the race for a wild-card spot.