The New York Yankees, who have been without a World Series championship for a long time, may have a hard time signing Shohei Ohtani, 29.
MLB.com, the official media outlet of Major League Baseball, published an article titled “Are the Yankees not optimistic about signing Ohtani? Is it too early to rule the Yankees out of the race for Ohtani? Maybe not,” suggesting that the Yankees will have a hard time landing Ohtani.굿모닝토토 도메인
Ohtani is one of the biggest names in free agency this winter. In 716 career games as a major league hitter, Ohtani has a career batting average of .274 (2,483-for-681) with 171 home runs, 437 RBIs and a .922 OPS, and as a pitcher, he is one of the best two-way players in major league history with a 38-19 record and 3.01 ERA in 86 games (481⅔ innings).
A unanimous winner of the 2021 American League MVP award, Ohtani finished second in MVP voting last year behind Aaron Judge (Yankees), who broke the American League home run record (62). This year, however, he won his second career unanimous MVP award after batting .340 (151-for-497) with 44 homers, 95 RBIs and a 1.066 OPS in 135 games, and going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 games (132 innings) as a pitcher. Ohtani is the first player in Major League Baseball history to win unanimous MVP honors twice. Ohtani is expected to receive a contract worth more than $500 million this winter.
As the most decorated team in Major League Baseball with 27 World Series titles, it’s no surprise that the Yankees want Ohtani. The Yankees have wanted Ohtani since he first came to the major leagues.
What’s more, the Yankees have been so bad lately that they’ve been dubbed the Evil Empire. They last won the World Series in 2009. They haven’t won a World Series in 14 years. They haven’t even made it to the World Series, let alone won it. This year, they spent about $278.65 million in team payroll, ranking second in payroll behind the Mets ($343.61 million), but failed to make the postseason, finishing fourth in the American League East with 82 wins and 80 losses. Ohtani is the best card to turn that around.
However, MLB.com reports that the Yankees are unlikely to land Ohtani. “The Yankees are really interested in Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix),” New York Post reporter John Heyman said on MLB Network Insider, “but he’s not optimistic that Ohtani will seriously consider coming to New York.
“When Ohtani first came to the majors in 2017, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman suggested that Ohtani wasn’t very interested in playing in New York because he preferred a smaller team than the Yankees, or a team on the West Coast. It’s worth noting that the teams that have been linked to Ohtani this offseason are all big-market teams with New York ties, including the Yankees and Mets, as well as the Dodgers and Cubs.”
Seattle could also be a candidate, given Ohtani’s preferences. However, MLB.com notes, “Signing Ohtani is unlikely to be a realistic offseason goal for Seattle, according to industry insiders.”