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When healthy, Shohei Ohtani may well be the single most-dominant player to ever step on an MLB diamond.
Sadly, Ohtani recently underwent his second Tommy John surgery as he enters MLB free agency.
Despite this, the Japanese superstar is still one of the sport’s best players, with 6.6 wins above replacement as a designated hitter this season in 135 games.
So it’s easy to see why teams are lining up to sign the superstars. And now, thanks to a report from MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, we know exactly what Ohtani is looking for.
"He (Shohei Ohtani) is probably less concerned about geography and more concerned about the quality of the team he is going to."@jonmorosi shares what the GM meetings revealed about Ohtani's approach to free agency. pic.twitter.com/h1xioxMPos
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 13, 2023
“After speaking with people around the industry and those more familiar with Shohei’s thinking, the difference between this free agency and the first time time that he came to North America is that he is probably less concerned about geography and more concerned about the quality of the team that he’s going to,” Morosi said on Monday.
“Yes, money is going to matter. We know that,” he continued. “Yes, the Dodgers probably remain the favorites to sign him and they are a West Coast team. And they’ve got the capacity to spend…
Morosi then said that Ohtani will focus entirely on hitting in 2024 and plans to try to win the Triple Crown as a hitter.
So there you are.
For all the talk of Los Angeles and New York, it appears Ohtani has just one thing on the front of his mind: winning.
Now, those two things aren’t entirely mutually exclusive, as Morosi mentioned with the Dodgers. But it would seem to take some clubs out of the running (lookin’ at you, New York Mets).
Ultimately, whichever team lands Ohtani immediately becomes a formidable force. And if it’s a team that’s already a contender, that team could leapfrog into the discussion as the World Series favorite conversation.