Seattle Mariners rumors: Front-runners for Shohei Ohtani
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.
The Seattle Mariners aren’t the only ones.
Earlier in the day, Bernie Pleskoff tweeted that the Mariners, Giants, and Padres will meet with Ohtani.
According to Jeff Passan, in anticipation of that meeting, the Mariners “have asked multiple players to clear their schedules from Tuesday through Friday next week to potentially come to Los Angeles for a meeting with Shohei Otani.”
One Mariner who won’t be there is Robinson Cano, who recently tweeted that he is on his way to Israel (presumably on vacation and not because he was traded by Jerry Dipoto).
As teams have been eliminated and Ohtani’s preferences are learned, the field has narrowed, and a favorite has moved to the front of the pack. Bob Nightengale tweeted that several MLB GMs have identified the Seattle Mariners as “clear-cut front-runners for Ohtani’s services.”
Several #MLB GMs now believe that the Seattle #Mariners are the clear-cut front runners for Ohtani's services and the Mariners are cautiously optimistic
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 4, 2017
Fans of the Seattle Mariners haven’t seen a playoff team since 2001, so they are cautiously optimistic at this point. If the competition has been reduced to West Coast teams other than Oakland, along with the Cubs and Rangers, the Mariners, Angels, and Rangers may have an advantage because they play in the American League.
Playing for an AL team would make it easier for Ohtani to get his bat in the lineup in between the games he pitches.
Last year, the DH spot for the Mariners and Angels was locked down by veterans Nelson Cruz and Albert Pujols. They were first and second in baseball in plate appearances as a DH, with 624 and 610, respectively. Cruz played just 28 innings in the field last year. Pujols played 50. The Rangers had three players with 100 or more plate appearances at DH. Shin-Soo Choo had the most, with 294.
The Mariners have already said they would gladly have Cruz play more in the field to get Ohtani’s bat in the lineup. The Angels would likely do the same with Pujols, but both teams would prefer to have them at the DH spot. In 2016, Cruz ranked 25th among 33 right fielders who played 400 or more innings in the fielding metric UZR/150.
He’s a liability on defense. Pujols hasn’t been that bad in the field, but the Angels want him at DH to keep him healthy.
Exciting times ahead for the Seattle Mariners, if they can land Ohtani.
These are exciting time for the fans of teams still in contention for Ohtani. Fans of the Mariners and Padres are particularly excited about the possibility.
On the other hand, fans of the teams that are eliminated aren’t pleased, and it appears that Yankees fans are taking it the hardest. The Daily News has Ohtani on the cover with the words “What a chicken!” in bold print.
STAGE FRIGHT: Shohei Otani too scared to play for the @Yankees...
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 4, 2017
An early look at Monday's front page https://t.co/BFmiNlWlSh pic.twitter.com/3BqOTFTf6j
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If you want to be disappointed in humanity, watch the video here (NSFW) of some of the responses from the more disgruntled Yankee fans out there. The milder comments about Ohtani include the words “mental midget” and “soft.”
One fan hopes he “fails miserably” and another hope “they hit you [Ohtani] in the head.” The harsher comments had plenty of expletives. Apparently, hell hath no fury as a Yankee fan scorned.
To be fair, this is probably the worst of the worst as far as fan reactions go. Surely, there were plenty of Yankee fans who took the news with dignity and class rather than malice and spite.
One of the reasons Ohtani may have decided against the Yankees is the time difference. A game starting at 7 p.m. in New York begins at 9 a.m. in Japan. A 7 p.m. start in Seattle is a 12 p.m. start in Japan.
Next: Iwakuma could help land Ohtani
Ohtani is making a decision of a lifetime. Some people have claimed that he’s going about it in a way that will make one team love him and 29 hate him, but that shouldn’t be. No matter where he signs, MLB fans should be happy to have him playing where we get to watch him on a regular basis for whatever team he ultimately chooses.