Sandy: Don’t hold breath on Ohtani
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Japanese Babe Ruth is intriguing to the Mets, even if the odds of him signing with the club are longer than a Ruthian blast.
Shohei Ohtani, a 23-year-old pitcher/outfielder who likely could have received $200 million to remain in Japan, is among the prize free agents this offseason. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson acknowledged Wednesday he hasn’t ruled out pursuing Ohtani, who is expected to draw the interest of all 30 teams.
“I don’t think there is a downside into looking into it,” Alderson said before departing the GM meetings. “I think the only downside is creating a false set of expectations among fans that have to be tempered. This guy can go to any one of 30 teams.”
Ohtani’s posting fee is expected to be $20 million, and teams are limited in what they can offer in the form of bonus dollars to entice the player. The Rangers, for instance, have the top amount of international signing bonus money available at $3.5 million. The Mets have only $105,000 to offer.
But Ohtani is likely to select a team with the long-term in mind, with marketing opportunities fac- toring into the equation. The fact the Mets haven’t scouted Ohtani in person perhaps provides a barometer about the team’s interest level. And Ohtani is represented by CAA — the same firm that counted Kazuo Matsui as a client in the early 2000s, when the Japanese star had a distasteful tenure with the Mets. Sources have also indicated the Mets are not acting like a team that is seriously interested in Ohtani.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Ohtani has a 2.52 ERA and averaged 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings in 85 career pitching appearances, mostly as a starter. Offensively, he boasts a .286/.358/ .500 slash line.
Alderson hasn’t seen Ohtani in action, but is intrigued by the buzz the player has created.
“The player is different in some ways and novel in certain respects,” Alderson said. “He plays so well offensively and pitches as well as he does, so I think that is the intrigue. That is what I think sets him apart from almost anybody else that has come over from Japan.
“He’s just a unique two-way player that you never see, certainly on the international market and maybe hardly ever in the draft.”
Alderson noted that baseball is an entertainment industry, and he wouldn’t be against the idea of Ohtani joining the team as a pitcher/outfielder. It’s a combination that seldom has been seen in the game, with Ruth as the most illustrious example of a player who excelled at both.
“I think it would be fun to watch the attempt and maybe at some point he would decide to do one or the other, but this is an entertainment business,” Alderson said.
“The foundation is baseball, but it’s entertainment and to see somebody with that talent do potentially what others have not been able to do, that will be an exciting experience for the team involved, as well as the rest of baseball. I think it’s going to be fascinating to see what happens.”
The Yankees, Dodgers, Rangers and Cubs are viewed as the favorites to land Ohtani.
“I don’t know that anybody has ruled themselves out of the Ohtani sweepstakes at this point, so I certainly wouldn’t rule ourselves out at this point,” Alderson said.
“But that is going to be a very complicated proposition for anybody who is interested. The basic parameters have not been set. There is still a lot to be learned in his situation and how it will unfold.”