Shohei Ohtani hasn’t been a free agent for another year. But that hasn’t stopped him from being the biggest talking point of the 2022 offseason.
Everything that happened this offseason has found a way to relate to Ohtani. After all, he’ll be an agent in less than a year of his freelance career and should be at the center of the biggest bidding war in MLB history.
Teams like the Dodgers are reportedly silent this offseason as they load up their two-way superstars with massive offers next offseason. The question is, how big do they need to be?
Jon Heyman of the New York Post clarified this question when he surveyed various MLB agents (except Ohtani’s agent). Here’s what some of them had to say:
“He will definitely beat Trout and you have to go from there.”
Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract with the Angels. Since then, his annual average has been surpassed by several superstars, including Aaron Judge this offseason most recently.
“I think he’ll be around $500 million or so, maybe 12 years.”
No one in MLB has ever won $500 million, but this agent isn’t the first time Ohtani has said he’ll reach that threshold. Here are a few more of the respondents who have $500 million projections.
“$500 million on 13/14 [years]— $250 million per position. “
“475 [million] Up to 525 people in 13 seasons.”
“11 times 50 = $550 million. It sounds crazy, but he has the ability to be a consistent 9/10 WAR player.”
“It certainly looks like something with a 5 in front of it.”
It’s pretty insane to think one player is worth it, but Ohtani isn’t really one player. At Ohtani, he has picked up the top talent in the rotation and is sure to be a consistent player in the Cy Young Awards debate.
Then get batting at the top of the lineup, hitting home runs consistently and sending in runners. In addition, he performs stolen bases and infield hits. He’s been a back-to-back Outstanding Designated Hitter and may need a name change after him in a few more years.
There’s no way to predict what someone like him will get, but it’s definitely high. At his current pace, there’s no reason he can’t fade as one of the greatest players of all time. And who wouldn’t want him on the team?