OHTANI DOESN’T WANT TO TALK FREE AGENCY
The usual accumulation of reporters, cameras and microphones assembled around a red Angels backdrop Thursday for Shohei Ohtani’s first public comments of the season. And as they tried their very best to pry even the smallest detail out of the sport’s only global icon, it became clear that the only question anyone really wanted answered was whether Ohtani will be back in front of an Angels backdrop to answer questions this time next year.
Because the most polished twoway player of the last century, the recently unfathomable combination of elite starter and top-tier power hitter, will become a free agent after this season, having long since proven wrong anyone who wondered if he would be able to do both things when he arrived in MLB. And after five years with no playoff appearances, and little hope for one in his sixth, Ohtani has plenty of reason to look elsewhere. He hasn’t exactly hidden his frustration with the Angels’ inability to surround the world’s most wellrounded player with a roster to match. But Thursday, he did his best to hide everything else.
“This is my last year and I’m aware of that,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. “As of now, I’m an Angel, and that’s all I want to focus on.”
Unfortunately for Ohtani, the rest of the baseball world will have a hard time focusing on anything but what comes next. And Thursday, everyone in attendance did their best to unearth even the tiniest hint.
For example, someone asked Ohtani what he felt when he heard that enigmatic Angels owner Arte Moreno, who announced he would explore selling the team this winter, decided not to do so. Ohtani said he had no reaction, but that he talked to Moreno on Wednesday when he ran into him at camp.
“No deep conversations,” he clarified.
Asked whether he would be open to an extension with the Angels, Ohtani said he did not have much idea what his agent, Nez Balelo of CAA, was talking to the Angels about these days, if anything. Asked whether he had a sense of how much he, a once-in-alifetime player who adds value on the mound and in the box, might make in free agency, he said he isn’t much of an expert on the free agent market — even though papers from New York to Tokyo have been speculating about it for months. And asked whether he is determined to become a free agent, Ohtani all but poured out his soul.
“This is the last year of my contract,” he said through Mizuhara, “and if I don’t sign an extension, naturally I will become a free agent.”
Also, left-hander Matt Moore and the Angels agreed to a $7.55 million one-year contract. Moore was a fulltime reliever for the first time last season, going 5-2 with a five saves and a 1.93 ERA for Texas.
Notable
New Rangers ace Jacob deGrom says the tightness in his left side is very minor. The Rangers have delayed the start of camp workouts for their prized acquisition. The right-hander’s past two seasons with the Mets were shortened significantly by injuries. DeGrom says he is already further ahead than normal this spring.
• New Astros GM Dana Brown hopes some of Cristian Javier’s teammates follow the pitcher’s example and agree to longterm contracts. Javier agreed last week to a $64 million, five-year deal. Brown said he’s in negotiations with the agents for outfielder Kyle Tucker and pitcher Framber Valdez. Tucker lost in salary arbitration and is slated to earn $5 million, and Valdez agreed last month to a $6.8 million, one-year contract. Both are eligible for free agency after the 2025 World Series.
• Brandon Gaudin, the former voice of Georgia Tech broadcasts, is the new play-by-play announcer for the Braves on Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast. Gaudin replaces Chip Caray, who on Jan. 30 was named the television play-by-play voice of the Cardinals.
• Right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez and the Phillies agreed to a $7.25 million, two-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Dominguez gets $2.5 million this season and $4.25 million next year. The deal includes an $8 million team option for 2025 with a $500,000 buyout.