Ohtani gets big raise for 2023
Shohei Ohtani, 28, has agreed to a $30 million deal with the Angels for the 2023 season in the twoway superstar’s final year of arbitration eligibility before free agency.
The deal is fully guaranteed, with no other provisions. The contract is the largest ever given to an arbitration-eligible player, surpassing the $27 million given to Mookie Betts by the Red Sox in January 2020, a month before he was traded to the Dodgers. Ohtani’s $24.5 million raise from his 2022 salary is by far the largest for an arbitration-eligible player. He shattered the previous record of $9.6 million set by Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom of the Mets when his pay was bumped from $7.4 million to $17 million before the 2019 season
Ohtani, the 2021 AL MVP, is batting .276 with 34 homers, 94 RBI and a .888 OPS as the Halos’ designated hitter. He is 15-8 with a 2.35 ERA and 213 strikeouts as their ace on the mound, and opponents are batting only .207 against him.
Ohtani still will be a free agent after the 2023 season, and he repeatedly has said winning will be an important factor in choosing his home beyond 2023.
No homer for Judge
Aaron Judge remained at 61 home runs on the 61st anniversary of Roger Maris’ 61st in the Yankees’ 8-0 rout of the visiting Orioles.
Judge was grazed on the left arm by a cutter from Austin Voth (5-4) leading off the first, walked in the second and struck out on a full-count curveball in the fourth — at 2:43 p.m., 61 years to the minute when Maris hit his 61st off Boston’s Tracy Stallard across the street at old Yankee Stadium on Oct. 1, 1961. Against Spenser Watkins, he walked starting in the seventh and struck out on a changeup in the eighth. Only eight of the 25 pitches he saw were strikes.
“That’s probably a little bit weird for every pitcher,” Boone said. “You’re striking that balance between ‘I want to attack him,’ but ‘It’s the best hitter in the world.’ ”
This and that
Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson homered off Max Scherzer, lifting the Braves to a crucial 4-2 victory against the visiting Mets and a one-game lead in the National League East. The Mets had a 10½-game cushion on June 1. The Braves will try for a three-game sweep Sunday night, with the winner earning the season-series tiebreaker.
† The Phillies’ magic number for their first playoff berth since 2011 is three after splitting a doubleheader with the host Nationals, combined with the Brewers’ 4-3 loss to the visiting Marlins.