With the Yankees being eliminated, the Seattle Mariners are rumored to be the front-runners for Japanese two-way player Shohei Ohtani.
Like a baseball version of the Hunger Games, one by one MLB teams are being eliminated from the competition to sign Japanese star Shohei Ohtani. On Twitter, Seattle Mariners fan site Lookout Landing has been tracking the Ohtani sweepstakes.
The Diamondbacks, Brewers, White Sox, Nationals, and Pirates are out. Mark Topkin reported that the Rays are out. Derrick Goold posted that the Cardinals are no longer in contention. Ken Rosenthal reported that the Twins, Athletics, Red Sox, and Yankees have been eliminated.
The Yankees being eliminated is somewhat surprising. Many thought they would be front-runners for the talented Ohtani. Yankees GM Brian Cashman mentioned that Ohtani might prefer to play for a team on the West coast or in a small market, which is the opposite of the Yankees. This aligns with Jon Heyman tweeting that the Dodgers and Padres are both still in the mix.
With the A’s being eliminated among West Coast teams, that leaves the Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Angels, and Mariners. When it comes to market size, Los Angeles is the second-biggest market in MLB, behind only New York. The bay area is third. Now, this would seem to give the Mariners and Padres the advantage among West Coast teams.
Late on Sunday, Evan Grant tweeted that the “Rangers and Cubs are the only two non-West Coast teams on Ohtani’s meeting list.”
The Cubs are reportedly going hard after Ohtani, with a very creative sales pitch, while the Rangers have been fairly quiet.