Baseball fans around the world may soon know which team Shohei Ohtani will be playing for next season — and Giants fans are certainly waiting with bated breath.
Contract negotiations with the Japanese two-way star are entering their final stages, and a small selection of MLB teams are expected to meet with Ohtani and his representatives in Los Angeles this weekend, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reported Friday, citing Industry sources with knowledge of the process.
While San Francisco is believed to be among the teams that have reached out to the free agent, the current status of the Ohtani free agency draw is reportedly unclear.
The Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets have all turned their attention to other players on the market, while the Los Angeles Angels (with whom Ohtani spent the last six seasons), Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays were still in Friday’s call, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported, citing sources.
“The San Francisco Giants have long had a preference for Ohtani, although where they stand in this sweepstakes is unknown,” Passan wrote.
That might not be a bad thing as negotiations are reportedly coming to a conclusion. The Giants may opt out to respect Ohtani’s desire for privacy after Passan reported last month that the superstar would blame that organization if meetings with teams were leaked.
San Francisco’s desire to sign Ohtani wasn’t so private, however, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi made clear during an appearance on “Hot Stove” earlier this week.
“Sources tell me the Giants are ready and putting all their hearts and finances into getting one of Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the coming weeks,” Morosi said.
Whether Ohtani or Yamamoto, a Japanese pitching target for the Giants, ends up coming to San Francisco remains to be seen. But Giants fans could get their answer in the coming days.
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