If the Giants’ 2023 MLB season had gone the way many initially thought, the upcoming offseason — especially Shohei Ohtani’s free agency — would be on the minds of many San Francisco fans at this point in the season.
Not only have the Giants exceeded expectations, but Ohtani’s monster season has also made it almost impossible not to look forward to what’s to come this winter.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Friday night that some in the league see three teams as the biggest players for Ohtani’s services this offseason.
“Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani hasn’t revealed his intentions, but some see three teams as most likely to compete for baseball’s best player, possibly ever: the outgoing Dodgers, Giants and Angels,” wrote Heyman. isn’t all about the money and will get the biggest contract ever anyway, and that he wants to win and maybe prefers the west coast).
Heyman cites the Giants’ recent willingness to spend big on big-name free agents as one of the reasons San Francisco is considered a major player for Ohtani’s services.
“The Giants have the remaining $360 million from the Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa lawsuits and are in excellent financial shape (and possibly even better shape with the A’s almost sure to leave for Las Vegas),” Heyman adds. .
The 2021 AL MVP was already expected to become the highest-paid athlete in North American professional sports history, but as his contract season unfolded, the projected dollar amount soared. sharply.
In 82 games as a hitter this season, Ohtani is batting .310/.396/.674 with 30 home runs and 67 RBIs in 316 at-bats.
In 16 starts as a pitcher, Ohtani is 7-3 with a 3.02 ERA and 127 strikeouts for just 39 walks in 95 1/3 innings pitched.
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The reason many believe Ohtani will receive another contract this offseason is because his performance as a hitter and pitcher, if considered individually against each other, would earn him a contract. high-end in both position markets. Approximately between 30 and 40 million dollars per year for each. Simply put, his value per season as a sole player could be between $60 million and $80 million. Over the life of a potential 10-plus-year contract, Ohtani could realistically receive over $600 million.
Will the Giants – or any serious suitor – be willing to pay over half a billion dollars for a player? We will know in five or six months.
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