American media reported that the battle to recruit Shohei Ohtani was reduced to a four-way match. The San Francisco Giants, who are strongly targeting Lee Jung-hoo, appear to have fallen away from the competition.
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ESPN, a sports media outlet, reported on the 2nd (Korean time), 'According to sources confirming, the LA Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, and LA Angels are still participating in the bidding.'
ESPN said, 'One source said Ohtani's contract size will be well over $500 million (about 650 billion won) and he will sign for at least $550 million (about 714.4 billion won). Another person said it could reach $600 million (about 780 billion won), he added.
ESPN reported, 'The Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, who were among the initial group of suitors, have turned their attention to other players. “The San Francisco Giants have also wanted Ohtani for a long time, but we don’t know where he is now,” he explained.
Ohtani has never publicly stated his position since becoming a free agent.
However, based on hints from those close to him through various reports, it is said that Ohtani prefers the west coast, a team that can win, and a team that uses a hitter-friendly stadium.
Accordingly, the Dodgers are being mentioned as the strongest candidate. There is a question mark as to whether San Francisco will have the power to win, and its home stadium, Oracle Park, is a very unfavorable stadium for hitters. Surprisingly, Toronto, which has an advantage over hitters and has solid power, is classified as a dark horse.
ESPN expected, 'No matter where Ohtani goes, he will break the record of $426.5 million (approximately 554 billion won, LA Angels' Mike Trout), which was the largest guaranteed amount in North American sports history.'
Meanwhile, Otani's negotiations are not expected to drag on for long. MLB.com reported, 'MLB Network's Jon Heyman said the prevailing opinion is that Ohtani will sign before the end of the meeting on December 6th.'
The Winter Meeting, the largest event in the Major League Baseball offseason, will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, USA from December 4th to 7th (local time, 3rd to 6th) this year. According to Heyman, it's very likely that Onati will get his stamp before the final day of the Winter Meetings.