You guys don’t think he’ll want to stay there but pull a Judge and use another team to get the max offer? He’s clearly worth it.
From what I’ve read he seems ultra competitive. I think he wants to play for a contender. I would bet on a move across town.
I wasn’t aware of that. That’d be a huge loss for the Angels. They really are in a no-win situation then.
Maybe this has been blow out of proportion but there was an interview where he said something about being happy with his own performance last season but not happy about the team’s.
“a good season for me personally.”
“I have to say that August and September in particular felt longer to me than last year,” Ohtani said, speaking in Japanese. “We were not able to play as many good games as we would like — including 14 consecutive losses. So I have a rather negative impression of this season.”
I also seem to remember a comment from him in the WBC about how he wanted to experience the MLB playoffs but I can’t find that one.
Angels unlikely to get anything when Ohtani walks
It seems to me like they’re going to face a lot of backlash unless they extend him.
They can let one of the best players ever walk and get nothing in return, or they can trade him for a return that will feel insufficient and risk a strong contender, such as the Dodgers, extending him.
It’s a tough spot for the Angels.
If I recall correctly, the narrative going into this season was that Ohtani is tired of not making the playoffs. If that’s true, then you might be right that money alone won’t do it.
Obviously Ohtani knows more about the Angels than I do, but from my perspective it’s hard to see why he’d want to return. The franchise has floundered around two all-time great talents for years now. They’ve never even had a winning season with Ohtani.
What do you think?
I think he’s tired of losing. He wants to win a championship, not just be the best player on a losing team. It’s tough to see how the Angels can dig themselves out of the hole they’ve dug and pay Ohtani the money he deserves.
It sucks because I think it’s good for baseball to have stars sign long term deals with the teams they’re drafted by instead of losing them to big market teams but the Angels are not a well-run team.
