The future of free agent superstar Shohei Ohtani is dominating conversation around baseball’s winter meetings in Nashville, but will he sign a contract before all interested parties leave the Music City?
Well…..there’s some disagreement on that.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported in his column on Sunday that he does not believe Ohtani will sign at the meetings “unless someone suddenly writes a $1 billion check.”
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Nightengale went on to report that he does believe Ohtani will sign before Christmas, but that the free agent is “not on the verge” of deciding his next home.
Meanwhile, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports indicated that Ohtani is “very likely” to decide on his next team in the coming week.
The next question, aside from whether Ohtani will actually sign in coming days, is which team will land him. Reports are nearly unanimous in saying the Los Angeles Dodgers are the frontrunners to sign him, but numerous other teams are making noise on that front.
Nightengale’s report tabs the Angels, Blue Jays, Giants and the Cubs as finalists for Ohtani, who would immediately be an asset in any team’s lineup and could potentially return to being the two-way phenom that can both hit and pitch at an All-Star level when he’s able to return to the mound in 2025 following elbow surgery.
Other reports have indicated that the Blue Jays are in hot pursuit of Ohtani,