It will soon be time for Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani to negotiate a new contract – and apparently, Angels is ready to break the bank.
There is often a choice in sports between money and winning: Championship teams can’t pay all their stars, and losing markets often have the deepest pockets.
The Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels seem to be fast approaching the edge of that cliff, yet the angels are ready to shove whatever it takes to keep him.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Angels broached the topic during spring training, but nothing ever materialized.
Rosenthal revealed that the Angels had “informal discussions” with the Ohtani camp, and there was an “understanding” that Ohtani’s new deal needed the best value of $43.3 million for Max Scherzer. Although the Angels were eager to strike a deal, the talks “did not gain any momentum.”
Otani doesn’t just move money, and that may be worse in the case of the Angels: because if the Angels can’t win, Otani might consider leaving for a team where he can.
“But more than that, I want to win,” Ohtani told Athletic Sam Bloom last September. “This is the most important thing to me. So, I will leave it at that.”
Shohei Ohtani left angels hanging during Spring Decade talks
In January, Otani made it clear that he did not want to explore a contract extension until the 2022 season was over. This year, Ohtani earns just $8.5 million, which is a fifth of what Scherzer earns annually.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer noted that The Angels’ 24-13 start gave way to a 5-21 slip, which doesn’t bode well for a two-way player focused on winning. Joe Madon’s shooting represented the worst of Angels Landing, with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani performing below expectations. Rimmer also notes that the Angels are “on course to finish below 0.500 for the seventh time in such years.”
Otani’s reluctance to strike a deal with the Angels could be a sign that he’s singularly focused on winning at any cost – or it could indicate that Ohtani is adding another year to justify a record-breaking contract with more. Whatever the reason, the fact that Ohtani wants to win and the Angels don’t win is not a good omen.
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