This coming offseason, the free agent market will be full of top tier players, including arguably the best player in all of baseball, Shohei Ohtani.
With the Los Angeles Angels having not reached the postseason in each of his first five seasons with the team, many are speculating that he might be on the move this coming winter.
Where to is obviously not yet known, but the Angels will hope to keep him around as long as possible.
Ohtani may in fact be set up for a record contract.
On MLB Network, analysts Lauren Shehadi, Chris Young, and Robert Flores debated over whether Ohtani could land a deal worth $600 million or more.
Is Shohei Ohtani a $600 million dollar player? pic.twitter.com/JW0i6BWHY5
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 28, 2023
Shehadi first noted some very lucrative contracts from recent years, including Gerrit Cole’s $324 million agreement with the New York Yankees.
Flores chimed in and made an important point, saying that Ohtani is exactly what every team in baseball wants because he is both a middle-of-the-order power bat and a frontline ace-level starting pitcher.
Young said he believes that Ohtani could in fact earn a contract of up to $600 million or more simply because he is the type of player that would warrant such a lucrative agreement.
The other analysts agreed upon this point, noting how Ohtani has essentially created his own market with TV deals and other factors.
Ohtani won the AL MVP Award in 2021 and finished second behind Aaron Judge last season in the race.
Several teams will be very interested in acquiring Ohtani’s services this winter.
NEXT: Shohei Ohtani Has Achieved An Impressive Mark
