Shohei Ohtani’s time with the Los Angeles Angels may have unofficially come to an end last week. The team kept Ohtani out of action over the weekend with an oblique injury, and the two-way superstar announced he underwent elbow surgery on Tuesday to repair his torn ACL.
Ohtani will hit the open market as a free agent in approximately six weeks. Unlike the last time he was a free agent in the winter of 2017-18, there will be no doubt about his vast talent or limitations on his potential earnings. In many ways, Ohtani will become the most anticipated and sought-after free agent in the history of the game.
In honor of the occasion, CBS Sports thought it would be worthwhile to do a primer on Ohtani’s free agency. Below you’ll find information about what makes him special, what type of contract he could get, how his torn ulnar collateral ligament could affect him, who could sign him and any other questions you might have.
Let us begin.
1. What makes Ohtani so special?
Simply put, Ohtani is a historical anomaly.
There have been two-way players in the major leagues before, even if in the distant past. For example, everyone knows that Babe Ruth both pitched and hit, but by the time he turned 25, Ruth was essentially finished as a pitcher. (Ohtani turned 29 in July.) Not enough people know that the Negro Leagues were home to several brilliant two-way talents, including Bullet Rogan, Martín Dihigo and Leon Day.
It is common to see two-way players at the amateur level. The two-way player at the professional level was treated almost like a gimmick. Some players, like Brooks Kieschnick and Micah Owings, received the backup pinch hit or backup assignment here and there. There’s nothing better than Ohtani pitching every five or six days while remaining in the lineup as the DH throughout. He has single-handedly moved the Overton window and changed what fans, players and teams believe is possible.
Perhaps the easiest way to summarize Ohtani’s genius is to turn to statistics. Over the course of his MLB career, he ranked seventh in OPS+ (min. 1,000 plate appearances) and eighth in ERA+ (min. 400 innings). It’s like combining Freddie Freeman’s bat with Gerrit Cole’s arm. Is it any wonder that he managed to achieve 10 wins above replacement in 135 games?
2. How much will Ohtani charge?
CBS Sports interviewed executives over the summer about Ohtani’s possible terms. Everyone assumed he would sign for at least $500 million. That was before Ohtani’s UCL injury, but he was still able to overcome that barrier after surgery. Only one player in league history has signed a contract worth up to $400 million, and that’s current (and soon-to-be-former) teammate Mike Trout, who signed a $426.5 million contract extension with the Angels in 2019. Dollar signed.
3. Why hadn’t Ohtani played in a while?
Ohtani struggled with numerous physical issues throughout the summer, as CBS Sports details in an extensive timeline here. Unfortunately, he was plagued by two problems that left him unable to pitch or play through.
On August 23, the Angels announced that Ohtani had torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm for the second time in his career. This ligament is perhaps obviously most commonly associated with Tommy John surgery. Ohtani continued to serve as the Angels’ DH following his torn ACL, but suffered an oblique muscle strain that has sidelined him since September 3rd.
The Angels cleaned out Ohtani’s locker last Friday before moving him to the IL on Saturday. He announced his surgery on Tuesday.
4. How does a UCL tear affect Ohtani’s availability?
Ohtani’s elbow surgery will keep him off the mound until 2025, his agent confirmed, but the baseball prodigy will be “ready to play without restrictions on Opening Day in 2024,” his surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache in a statement. By 2025, he will “do both (hit and pitch).”
CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder recently spoke with a doctor about why Ohtani can continue to hit while he rehabs his elbow as a pitcher. An easy comparison is Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper, who returned as DH just 160 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November 2022.
Ohtani, of course, hasn’t pitched since 2021 and has fewer than 10 career innings in the outfield; The Angels used him almost exclusively as a DH on days he wasn’t pitching.
5. Why was Ohtani’s free agency different last time?
Ohtani was designated an amateur free agent because MLB rules require international players to meet certain age and seniority requirements or otherwise be subject to bonus pool signing rules. Additionally, Ohtani was only able to hit the big league minimum despite clearly being one of the best players in the world with enough professional experience. He only received a $2.3 million signing bonus, which was equivalent to a late first-round pick at the time.
6. Who are the favorites to sign Ohtani?
Ohtani is expected to feature the usual high rollers. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who pursued him from high school and pursued him again when he first got here, are believed to be the club most likely to sign him. The San Diego Padres are also expected to be aggressive and try to make a course correction after this year. It remains to be seen whether the New York Yankees and New York Mets will make a serious commitment.
For posterity’s sake, we’d like to point out that the other four clubs were considered finalists when Ohtani first got here: the San Francisco Giants, the Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners and the Chicago Cubs.