The 2023 MLB season has sadly come to an end. There were many shocking happenings throughout this
year of baseball; Ronald Acuña Jr. recorded the first 40/70 season in MLB history; the team with the highest payroll ever documented finished with a disappointing record of 75-87; and the Angels decided
to hold onto Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline to try to secure a playoff spot. With that being said, the 29 year old has been a popular player in the global betting market in the past few years, including his home country, where baseball betting is extremely popular, and now his home for the new season is in a big question.
The decision to keep Ohtani has so far proved to be the wrong one. The Angels failed to obtain a spot in
the postseason, finishing at an underwhelming fourth in the AL West with a total of 73 wins and 89 losses. Now their prized possession, Shohei Ohtani, is an impending free agent. It would be an understatement to say that their season was a loss. Ohtani is one of the few bright spots left in the Angels’ organization.
If they can’t persuade him to remain in Anaheim, the Angels’ resolution to keep him at the deadline will go down as one of the worst front-office decisions in MLB history. They had the opportunity to trade Ohtani and still receive a solid return for the superstar. However, they decided against doing so, and will now get nothing in return for the two-way player. There is still a chance Ohtani could stay in Anaheim by signing a contract with the Angels, but this seems quite unlikely because of the competition on the open market.
What Kind of Competition Do the Angels Have Over Ohtani?
The biggest contender for the superstar appears to be the Angels’ crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is not the first time the Dodgers have been tied to Ohtani. Before he signed with the Angels in 2017, the Dodgers had been among possible landing spots for Ohtani. It would have been a problem for him to sign with the Dodgers back then because the DH had not yet been established in the National League. Now that that obstacle has been erased, Ohtani is more likely to agree to a contract with the Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Dodgers pretty much check all of Ohtani’s boxes. Ohtani has previously expressed his desire to play for a contending team. The Dodgers already have that one out of the way. They finished the 2023 regular season with 100 wins, which was the second-best record in the National League. Another notable box that the Dodgers check is location. Ohtani has stated before that he prefers to play on the West Coast, and Los Angeles would obviously meet his qualifications in that area.
The biggest overall factor for any team to even be considered as a landing spot for Ohtani is money. The Dodgers are one of the few organizations that will be able to offer Ohtani what he is worth. In the end, it will be strictly up to Ohtani to decide who he would like to play for, but the Dodgers look as if they would be very appealing to him with all that they bring to the table.
My 15-year-old niece Callie wrote this article. She is an avid sports fan, a student of the box score, and a future sports journalist in the making. See her previous piece here. We at Belly Up Sports are proud to share this as a part of a new “Junior Reporter” feature, highlighting the future of the industry. If you would like to leave a comment or word of encouragement, find me on Twitter/X. I’ll pass them along to her. Featured image credit to Sean M. Haffey / Staff / Getty Images.
