Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani is set to hit the market after the conclusion of the 2023 World Series.
Well, that if he isn’t extended before that point, but that is looking highly unlikely these days.
The Japanese star, who just won his first World Baseball Classic with his country, is about to become a very rich man.
Not that he isn’t already – his salary for the 2023 campaign is $30 million – but he is about to break the record for largest contract ever received by an MLB player.
His teammate, Mike Trout, is the current record holder: he inked a 12-year, $426.5 million pact before the 2019 season.
For some time, we believed it would take $500 million to sign Ohtani.
Now, we are all starting to have our doubts.
will half a billion dollars really get it done? pic.twitter.com/vllCsFai2E
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 23, 2023
Now, we don’t think $500 million will get it done.
There has been recent chatter about $600 million.
We won’t know for sure until he puts pen to paper, but we do know that it will be considerably bigger than Trout’s pact.
Trout is a slightly better hitter than Ohtani.
However, Trout does not return ace performance on the mound like the Japanese phenom.
In the last two seasons, Ohtani has finished with a 3.18 ERA (2021) and a 2.33 mark (2022), both with significantly more strikeouts than innings pitched.
He can throw 100 mph, he has a devastating splitter-slider combination, he has enormous power, and knows how to get on base.
All of that in one player, and one roster spot.
Ohtani is a unique player, and if we had to predict the total amount of his next deal, we would say it won’t be less than $520 million.
There will be too many contenders looking to sign him for that number to be lower.
NEXT: Former MLB Stars Comment On Shohei Ohtani's Impact
