How to Sign Shohei Ohtani

[Chuck]

How to Sign Shohei Ohtani

by Dave Cameron - September 13, 2017

The Shohei Ohtani show has unofficially begun. After missing over a month with a thigh issue, Ohtani returned to the mound two weeks ago, with scouts from half of the Major League teams reportedly in attendance. For his start on Tuesday night, both Andrew Friedman and Jerry Dipoto were known to be in the stands to watch in person, a start in which Ohtani was clocked at 101 mph and allowed just one hit over 5.2 innings. And after that start, reports from Japan have begun to suggest that there’s an agreement in place for Nippon to post Ohtani this winter, clearing him to come to the Majors for the 2018 season.

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[Chuck]

The 'Japanese Babe Ruth'—Shohei Otani—will be taking his talents to MLB pic.twitter.com/xTSGW19QiD

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 13, 2017

[Angelsjunky]

The bottom line: by coming to the States now vs. in two years, he's losing out on a ton of money - tens of millions - or at least putting his big pay day off by several years. This makes me think he's already got a team picked out and just wants to play major league baseball, otherwise why not wait a couple years and let the bidding war begin?

[Chuck]

Is there ANY chance we land this guy? 

I want to hear a solid idea of how we possibly can. I'm pretty pessimistic on us even having a chance. 

[Angelsjunky]

Trout will give him a call.

[jsnpritchett]

3 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Is there ANY chance we land this guy? 

I want to hear a solid idea of how we possibly can. I'm pretty pessimistic on us even having a chance. 

[Taylor]

12 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Is there ANY chance we land this guy? 

No.

[Angels#1Fan]

Look for only the richest teams to be in the running.

Skankees, Dodgers or Boston.

 

 

[Tank]

17 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Is there ANY chance we land this guy? 

I want to hear a solid idea of how we possibly can. I'm pretty pessimistic on us even having a chance. 

i can't go into any details, but i have a team working on the logistics.

 

btw, anyone know if it's possible to buy duct tape, rope, and black hoods in bulk anywhere? asking for a friend.

[GrittyVeterans]

19 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

The bottom line: by coming to the States now vs. in two years, he's losing out on a ton of money - tens of millions - or at least putting his big pay day off by several years. This makes me think he's already got a team picked out and just wants to play major league baseball, otherwise why not wait a couple years and let the bidding war begin?

It's a risk vs. reward thing. If he stays overseas for 2 years and blows out his arm in that time then he is likely never getting the big payday. He knows he's getting gobs of money no matter what, so why risk it? I'd do the exact same thing he's doing

He's 23 years old. Most players that get drafted don't hit free agency until they're 31 or 32 anyway so it's not a big deal for him

[Angel Oracle]

Do they have Del Tacos in Japan? 

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

12 minutes ago, Angels#1Fan said:

Look for only the richest teams to be in the running.

Skankees, Dodgers or Boston.

 

 

Cubbies....

[eligrba]

Jerry Dipoto was in the stands. I know that is the guy I want to evaluate an international player.

[Angel Dog and Beer]

AngelsLongBall's Japanese porn collection should do it. 

 

 

[floplag]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

Trout will give him a call.

This is our only chance, if hes a huge Trout fan.  Otherwise its the same old same old, Dodgers/Yankees 

[ettin]

Chuck,

I don't think we have the best odds but I also don't think we have the worst odds to sign him.

In our favor: 1) Otani gets to play with another legend Mike Trout, 2) We play in a favorable market and climate, 3) We have a strong Japanese community and base in Los Angeles, 4) From all accounts that I have read, Otani is a quite, reserved, frugal man who may find the less glaring spotlight in Anaheim more attractive, 5) Otani has stated he wants to be a 2-way player (positional and pitching) and we have a definitive need at SP plus we may have an opening in LF (our needs fit his wants).

In our disfavor: 1) We can only offer him, at best $4-5M if, and only if, we obtain our maximum 75% above-cap bonus pool money (which means trading players for cap space, currently we only have about $1.5-2M), 2) Teams like the Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers, Red Sox, and Yankees probably have an organizational attractiveness to them that edges the Angels out, 3) He may prefer an owner or company that is Japanese owned or has at least minority owners who are of Japanese descent (this may or may not be an issue), 4) He may prefer East Coast or Central Divisions to West (who knows?), and 5) probably a host of other reasons I'm unfamiliar with.

I would also note, again, that Otani wears Darvish's number in Japan and may be a fan or admirer of Yu. The team that signs Darvish may have an inside track on Otani as well.

All that being said Chuck I think we would super-luck out if we, by some miracle, acquired him.

[ettin]

57 minutes ago, SlappyUtilityMIF said:

Cubbies....

Remember a lot of teams including the Cubs are under International Bonus money restrictions and can't pay more than $300,000 to Otani this off-season. Additionally MLB has made it clear that any side deals or promises, if discovered, will result in sanctions against the team (how enforceable this is, is another question of course).

[Ohtaniland]

 

Mike Trout Way

Shohei Otani Way

Disneyland tickets and some Anime porn. 

[gurn67]

Get a new owner who believes you should spend money on guys with upside, not guys who have nowhere to go but down.

[Ohtaniland]

17 minutes ago, ettin said:

Remember a lot of teams including the Cubs are under International Bonus money restrictions and can't pay more than $300,000 to Otani this off-season. Additionally MLB has made it clear that any side deals or promises, if discovered, will result in sanctions against the team (how enforceable this is, is another question of course).

Didn't the Yankees make some crafty trades that included getting additional international money allotment for themselves?

I believe the Yankees thanks to three July trades will have more money to offer.

[ettin]

14 minutes ago, Calzone said:

Didn't the Yankees make some crafty trades that included getting additional international money allotment for themselves?

I believe the Yankees thanks to three July trades will have more money to offer.

Yes they will, I am sure they will be a big contender for his services. However even they cannot pay more than about $7M-8M or so.

I'm not really sure this is going to be about money in the end. Otani assuredly realizes that any team will probably give him an extension after his first full year in the Majors unless he just flat out sucks so this up front money is not as big a deal as him picking the team he wants to be with in the future.

All that being said the Yankees and Dodgers are probably his likely landing spots. The value any team will get out of acquiring Otani will be tremendous and franchise-altering in my opinion as long as Shohei lives up to even half of his budding reputation.

[GrittyVeterans]

Since we're not getting him let's all root for anyone but the dodgers

[m0nkey]

Calzone is back!!

[Ohtaniland]

3 minutes ago, ettin said:

Yes they will, I am sure they will be a big contender for his services. However even they cannot pay more than about $7M-8M or so.

I'm not really sure this is going to be about money in the end. Otani assuredly realizes that any team will probably give him an extension after his first full year in the Majors unless he just flat out sucks so this up front money is not as big a deal as him picking the team he wants to be with in the future.

All that being said the Yankees and Dodgers are probably his likely landing spots. The value any team will get out of acquiring Otani will be tremendous and franchise-altering in my opinion as long as Shohei lives up to even half of his budding reputation.

If Tanaka decides to stay with the Yankees he may also influence Otani's decision. I like that teams no longer have to pay $20m - $50m in posting just to have the rights to negotiate with Japanese players. 

[ettin]

8 minutes ago, Calzone said:

If Tanaka decides to stay with the Yankees he may also influence Otani's decision. I like that teams no longer have to pay $20m - $50m in posting just to have the rights to negotiate with Japanese players. 

Actually there is still a maximum $20M posting fee. Any team can offer anywhere between $1 up to the maximum $20M cap placed by MLB. Whomever wins the posting gets exclusive negotiating rights. In the case of a tie, all of the teams tied for the highest posting fee can negotiate.

A player like Otani of course will command $20M bids, probably from every team in MLB. Whoever ultimately signs Otani will be the team that actually pays the posting fee.

And yes Tanaka could be a draw to New York. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if New York signed all three of Darvish, Tanaka, and Otani.