Players would love to see Ohtani signed in offseason
ANAHEIM — Before the Angels decided to keep two-way marvel Shohei Ohtani off the trade market last month, San Francisco Giants catcher-outfielder Blake Sabol at one point was mentioned as a player who might get targeted in a deal for the Japanese star.
“Ross Stripling showed it to me on his phone — it was me and a couple of other guys as a potential package,” Sabol said before Tuesday’s game at Angel Stadium. “Strip was like, ‘Sabes, I love you, but we would have to do this.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I get it.’ ”
Ohtani remains in Anaheim, and Wednesday he was to pitch against one of the teams that most covets him. The Giants probably would have considered moving any of their top young players — except, maybe catcher Patrick Bailey — for him, but now they figure to be among the top suitors for Ohtani, who just turned 29. A three-time All-Star, 2021 MVP and 2018 Rookie of the Year, Ohtani had a major-league leading 40 homers and 1.078 OPS going into Wednesday’s game, plus a 9-5 record and 3.32 ERA in 21 starts.
“He’s really good at everything he does, he has all five tools as a hitter and he also has the pitching thing,” shortstop Brandon Crawford said. “I think what’s impressive seeing him in person that you don’t see as much on TV is his speed, which isn’t really talked about a lot. He hit a groundball up the middle (Monday night) and even if the shortstop gets there, he’d still be really difficult to throw out. Then he steals second. Then he has a hustle double, which he did relatively easily, which is crazy because it was a line drive to center. And then obviously the power and the great eye at the plate.”
Giants outfielder Michael Conforto said he’s amazed how much power Ohtani generates even when off balance, noting that Ohtani struck a 107 mph flyball Monday; “Jeez, he’s just an incredible athlete,” Conforto said.
Is it tampering when every player on every team wants to add the same free agent? The Giants’ clubhouse is universally behind signing Ohtani this winter, making them in no way unusual.
“Everyone in the world is wondering what he’s going to do,” Conforto said. “I definitely have an interest just like everybody else to see how all that plays out. Wherever he goes, they’ll be very lucky to have him.”
Conforto might also be a free agent, should he choose to exercise his optout. What kind of market might Ohtani establish for the rest of the unsigned players? Early estimates range from $600 million$800 million, which makes sense when you consider the Yankees have committed $350 million to outfielder Aaron Judge and $384 million to pitcher Gerrit Cole.
If there were other unicorns out there, Ohtani’s contract might be pertinent. “Yeah,” Conforto said with a laugh. “That’s going to be a completely different deal.”
Many teams will be willing to pay whatever it takes to sign a player Logan Webb called “the most talented baseball player of all time” after Monday’s win over the Angels. The Giants might be able to set themselves apart, even if many believe that the Angels and Dodgers remain the frontrunners. San Francisco has plenty of money after failing to sign Judge and then unraveling a $350 million deal with Carlos Correa for medical reasons last winter. The Giants would like to reverse the notion they can’t land the big fish. And because they didn’t trade for Ohtani, the Giants have all their best prospects in place to create a potentially top-notch young core that could win for a long time.
“In the past 15 years, we’ve won the World Series three times, that’s a good place to start,” Crawford said. “This team has a history of trying to do what it takes to win. I’ve heard he wants to win, and for someone like him, who’s done everything else, the World Series will be the main thing.”
Alex Cobb was teammates with Ohtani in 2021 and they’re also friendly through offseason workouts at the high-performance Driveline facility. He thinks the Giants “tick a lot of boxes.” Their pitching coaches have a superb reputation, and Bailey is already considered one of the best catchers in the game when it comes to working with pitchers, calling games, stealing strikes and throwing out runners.
“I know that the Giants, Dodgers and Cubs were all high on Shohei’s list when he first signed, but without the DH then, it just wasn’t realistic,” Cobb said. “Now that that’s gone, I think he wants to be in a place that is a big market and can sustain winning for a long time, and I think he wants his own little niche, his own legacy to leave — and I feel like the Giants are such a big name in Japan as well, with their Giants team over there as well, and San Francisco has a big Japanese population.
“I absolutely could see that as the very possible outcome if we back the truck up enough.”
Cobb has seen him more often than the rest of the Giants and said the key to Ohtani’s greatness is more than just off-the-charts ability and a high baseball IQ.
“It’s his discipline,” Cobb said. “Shohei dedicates his life to this. It’s like he was born to be the best ever and part of that comes with sacrifices. Like he doesn’t have a family, and I think part of that is because he wants to dedicate everything he’s got to baseball. He doesn’t have anything outside that apart from being Shohei.”
As a starter, Ohtani entered Wednesday having faced the Giants just once before, throwing six innings and allowing six hits, two walks and a run with nine strikeouts on June 23, 2021, also in Anaheim. He’s 0-for-8 with two walks in 10 career plate appearances at Oracle Park, and while he might lose some homers to the stadium’s less hitter friendly dimensions, Crawford said Ohtani would more than make up for it with doubles.
The only way to approach Ohtani when he’s on the mound, Crawford said, “is (to) look for the fastball and then hope you see the spin or whatever. You can’t try to do too much — he throws too hard. It would be borderline impossible to look off-speed and then hit a 100 mph fastball. … He’s probably the one person who can.”