Shohei Ohtani (29 – Los Angeles Angels) has had a tumultuous season as a pitcher in the United States. Since he is eligible for free agency after the season, there is a lot of talk surrounding his price tag. Amidst the $500 million skepticism, a prominent American journalist claims that this elbow injury will not have a significant impact on Ohtani’s contract 카지노.
“Ohtani’s injury won’t be a hindrance to a historic deal,” wrote New York Post reporter John Heyman on Friday (ET).
Ohtani has been a favorite for MVP, Cy Young, and other major awards this season. He’s been on a tear.
Through 25 games, he’s 23-10 with a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings pitched, 66 strikeouts and 167 walks, and he’s batting .304 with 44 home runs, 91 RBIs, 97 runs scored, 17 doubles, a .405 on-base percentage, a .664 slugging percentage and a 1.069 OPS in 126 games.
These stats have led to a steady stream of ransom notes for Ohtani. Each time, the price tag kept rising.
Just when it looked like he was on a roll, something happened. Injury.
On April 24, while starting the first game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds, Ohtani felt something wrong with his elbow and left the mound after just 1⅓ innings. He was immediately taken to a doctor for further evaluation.
After the second game of the doubleheader, the team announced Ohtani’s injury. The news was devastating: a torn medial collateral ligament in his right elbow. As a result, Ohtani will be unable to pitch for the rest of the season. In the worst case scenario, he will have to undergo Tommy John surgery. In that case, we won’t see him pitch next season.
With the decision still pending, Ohtani decided to continue playing as a designated hitter, which is why he accompanied the team to New York.
Even if the season goes like this, the problem is after the season ends. He will be eligible for free agency. It won’t be without repercussions. That’s why there are concerns in the United States.
“Even if he can’t pitch until 2025, Ohtani’s contract should start (negotiations) at $500 million,” Heyman said. “There are many questions about his ligament injury, but the biggest question is which team will take the ’21st century Babe Ruth’.” He speculated that he would sign a one-year deal.
“Honestly, a one-year deal doesn’t make sense,” he said, “but even if he can’t pitch in 2024, Ohtani is a top hitter. He could easily get $500 million with both of them expected to be in contention.”
The two teams Heyman expects to be in the running for Ohtani are the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
“One of the things that Ohtani has expressed so far is that he wants to win a championship. “One of the things he’s expressed so far is that he wants to win, and there aren’t many teams that can win consistently (than the Dodgers),” he said, adding, “I think he prefers Southern California. He likes small cities.”
Second on the list is San Diego, and third is his current team, the Angels.
How will this injury affect Ohtani, will his price drop, and will any team be willing to take a big gamble on his abilities? We’ll see after the season is over.