The Angels star, who is presumed to win his second American League Most Valuable Player award this month, is a free agent this offseason.
ARLINGTON, Texas — That didn’t take long.
The confetti from the Rangers’ World Series parade had barely drifted to the ground when a juicy rumor set Rangers fans abuzz this weekend: Is Texas really a favorite to land the two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani?
The Angels star, who is presumed to win his second American League Most Valuable Player award this month, is a free agent this offseason. And even though he won’t pitch in 2024 while recovering from elbow surgery, he’s still expected to command the largest contract in baseball history, somewhere in the range of $500 million or higher.
So the burning question in baseball this offseason is: Where will Ohtani sign?
That brings us to Saturday, when the popular Rangers Nation Instagram account posted a picture of Ohtani that included a juicy nugget:
“According to a report by Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Ohtani’s preferred destination is the Texas Rangers, followed by the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers.”
Is that accurate? Well, sort of.
Yes, Jon Heyman, the baseball insider for the New York Post, did include the Rangers, along with the Giants and Dodgers, as his favorites to land Ohtani.
Heyman did so on Oct. 26 in a column for the Post, headlined “More contenders join $500 million Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes.”
Heyman delved into how much he believes Ohtani will get (he’s sticking with $500 million) and then proceeded to rank his “updated odds board.” So to be clear, this wasn’t Heyman reporting an Ohtani-Rangers link as it was him projecting the possibility. And this part is important, too: Heyman listed the Rangers as tied for first on his board with the Giants and Dodgers, not ahead of them.
“They got a taste of winning, are unafraid to spend, and made their first cut six years ago. Word is they were ready to go for Ohtani at midseason,” Heyman wrote of the Rangers.
On the Giants, Heyman pointed to San Francisco’s desire to land a big star, though he mentioned Ohtani might not like hitting in a ballpark that isn’t friendly to left-handed hitters.
Heyman described the Dodgers as a well-rounded contender for Ohtani, with more than enough money, the consistency of winning and enough payroll space.
After those top three, Heyman listed the Mets, Red Sox, Angels, Cubs, Yankees, Padres and Mariners.
Has there been any other substantial reports linking Ohtani to the Rangers? Not really, though it was well-rumored that Texas was considering trading for Ohtani at the deadline this year. The Rangers were also among the seven teams Ohtani considered after the 2017 season, when Ohtani made the move from Japan to the major leagues.
He ultimately picked the Angels and lived up to the lofty hype as a two-way star. He won Rookie of the Year in 2018 and MVP in 2021. He’s expected to add another MVP award this year, after hitting 44 homers and batting .304, while also pitching 132 innings to a 3.14 ERA with 167 strikeouts.
His pitching was cut short in 2023 due to injury, and he ultimately had elbow surgery, which means he won’t pitch in 2024. But he’s still one of the best hitters in the game and is a top-tier pitcher when healthy.
