ANAHEIM — The Angels avoided arbitration with Shohei Ohtani on Saturday when they signed the two-way star to a one-year, $30 million deal for the 2023 season. Ohtani, AL’s reigning MVP, remains a free agent after next year.
Ohtani, who was honored as team MVP and winner of the Nick Adenhart Award for the Halos’ best pitcher of the season prior to the Angels’ 3-2 win over the Rangers, never went through an arbitration with the Angels as he also did signed a two-year deal worth $8.5 million ahead of the 2021 season. He was facing a record-breaking arbitration this winter, but this agreement avoids that prospect. At $30 million, the deal sets a record for a player in its third year of arbitration, surpassing the $27 million Mookie Betts received ahead of the 2020 season.
“It’s great for him,” interim manager Phil Nevin said ahead of Saturday’s game against Rangers. “I think with the level of comfort that’s going into the off-season, it’s a good thing. It’s not really my department but it’s been a pleasure running it and hopefully we’ll stay together for a while.”
It’s a big pay jump for Ohtani, who made $5.5 million this year and $3 million last year. However, the Angels have several big salaries off the books, including Justin Upton’s $28 million, Noah Syndergaard’s $21 million, and Michael Lorenzen’s $6.5 million. They also traded more closely with Raisel Iglesias, who had $51 million left on his deal. But it will still be an interesting off-season for the Angels as they have some holes to fill next year but also face a potential change of ownership as Arte Moreno hinted at the end of August that he is considering selling the team. It’s still unclear how this potential change of ownership will affect the club’s spending this off-season.
The one-year contract also does not change Ohtani’s future with the Angels beyond next year. Ohtani was already under team control for another year, so it was just a matter of avoiding arbitration sooner than usual. It also doesn’t rule out the Angels trading with Ohtani this off-season, although it’s highly unlikely.
The timing of the potential change of ownership could prove important for Ohtani in terms of renewal talks. He has stated in the past that winning is the most important thing to him, but the Angels haven’t finished more than .500 since 2015.
However, a new owner could sell him a new vision for the franchise. But that would have to happen before Ohtani’s contract expires after next season. If the Angels can’t sign him for an extension, Ohtani will be one of the most desirable free agents in major league history post the 2023 season given his unique talent as an elite batsman and pitcher.
Ohtani, 28, has had another historic season and believes he was even better than last year when he unanimously won the AL MVP award. He is racing with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the AL MVP award this season and is also in talks for the AL Cy Young award.
He took a no-hitter in the eighth inning on Thursday against the A’s and has one more start on the mound in Wednesday’s season finale in Oakland. He’s 15-8 with a 2.35 ERA and 213 strikeouts in 161 innings this year on the mound.
He also went 1-for-4 with a single in the eighth inning on Saturday, extending his hitting streak to 16 games, which is a personal best and the longest active streak in the majors. He’s hitting .276/.359/.527 with 34 homers, 29 doubles, 11 stolen bases and 94 RBIs in 153 games this season.
It came after he was honored in a special pregame ceremony when general manager Perry Minasian, Moreno and Nevin were on the field to present Ohtani with his awards as the club’s MVP and top pitcher, as voted by his teammates. It was the second year in a row that he had won both awards.
“It was great,” Nevin said. “That was a really cool moment for Shohei. These awards mean a lot to him and he doesn’t take them lightly. He’s a great teammate and these awards are voted on by his teammates. It was my first time being part of one with the Angels, so it was great.”