The Texas Rangers have entered the Shohei Ohtani bidding war.
You may ask what this means, but it’s safe to say that free agency hasn’t even started yet. Local media outlets are picking up on these moves and passing them along to fans under the heading of “rumors”.
One of the first outlets to link Ohtani to Texas was popular columnist John Heyman. In a recent article titled “More Teams Are Entering the $500 Million Ohtani Bid,” Hayman listed Texas as a front-runner, along with the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.
So far, the Dodgers have been the No. 1 team in the race for Ohtani, followed by the West Coast teams of San Francisco, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres. Texas, a member of the AL West but geographically in the Central time zone, has been categorized as the second group, lumped in with the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals.
But Heyman sees Texas as the best fit for Ohtani, saying, “The Rangers know the taste of victory. They’re not afraid to spend money. than they were six years ago after they got past the first round (in the Ohtani deal). Also, the Rangers had thought about acquiring Ohtani (via trade) during the season this year. He went on to give Texas 6-to-1 odds to sign Ohtani.
This season, Texas is battling the Arizona Diamondbacks for supremacy in the World Series for the first time in 12 years since 2011. That’s what we mean by “taste of victory.
The Rangers have also been wildly successful in free agency over the past two years. Last winter, they signed Jacob deGrom (five years, $185 million), Nathan Eovaldi (two years, $34 million), and Andrew Heaney (two years, $25 million), and in the 2021-2022 market, they landed Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million), Marcus Simien (seven years, $175 million), and Jon Gray (four years, $56 million). That’s $847.85 million over two years.
Ibaldi, Seager, Simien, and Gray are now World Series mainstays. Texas didn’t stop there, acquiring Max Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery, and Austin Hedges in the trade market last summer. They are also on the World Series roster.
Most notably, the Giants handed the managerial reins to Bruce Bochy a year ago. Bochy is known as a “game-changer,” having won three World Series titles with San Francisco.짱구카지노 도메인
Heyman believes Texas will continue to invest this winter, which local outlet Bleacher Report interpreted as, “Rumors that the Rangers, red-hot in the postseason and three games away from World Series supremacy, will add one of the greatest duos in history to an already strong roster are sending shivers down other clubs’ spines.
Some speculate that Texas’ move could be particularly appealing to Ohtani, who has said he wants to “win a championship” and that power will be his most important selection criteria.
But whether Texas can win the money battle with the Dodgers remains to be seen. Ohtani’s price tag is believed to be at least $500 million. He’s coming off elbow surgery that will keep him off the mound next season, but his bat is basically the best in the majors and he can pitch after 2025, so there’s no reason for his value to drop.
But Texas has a history of shocking the North American sports world, having signed free agent sensation Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252 million deal 23 years ago in December 2000. There’s no reason it can’t happen again. If Ohtani joins Texas next year, he’ll join Scherzer, DeGrom, Seager, Simien, and this fall’s baseball hero, Adolis Garcia, in one of the most stacked star corps ever.