Ohtani to Dodgers for an ungodly amount of money

[jersey cubs fan]

30 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Signing Ohtani requires the Braves to either dramatically cut payroll elsewhere, or to go to a payroll level previously only reached by last year's Mets.  They have a lot of guarantees in future seasons already too, so while you can maybe squint and see it as a temporary jump(e.g. Morton + Ozuna is an Ohtani shaped role and a big chunk of an Ohtani AAV), it would either require sustained payroll levels we have only seen by the Cohen Mets(who immediately backtracked from them) and the Yankees, or pretty significant handcuffs over the next several seasons.

It’s okay, Cobb County taxpayers will foot the bill

[Irrelevant Dude]

2 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I'm betting the Cubs, Dodgers, and other teams are in on that too. I think he's going to sign a record-breaking contract that neither he nor the team intends to be long-term. It's too much money for too long for clubs to be comfortable with. 

I have seen it suggested that contracts would likely include an opt out after 2025, which would likely follow a full season of Ohtani back on the mound.  I'm not sure that opt out is really as attractive as it looks though.  If teams are already in the  neighborhood of $50M AAV over the life of the contract, how much room is there really for that to increase when Ohtani is entering his age 31/32 season in 2026?  

[ILMindState]

11 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Going to the Braves would be equivalent to when the Miami Heat added Wade,Bosh and Lebron for me. It more or less killed my interest in the sport going forward. 

Sources:

Suzuki - Wade

Ohtani - Lebron

Yamamoto - Bosh

They're forming the Japanese big 3 in Chicago with an opt out in 2026 to coincide with Seiya's contract. Seiya has been recruiting since the baseball classic (Yes I know he was injured but they still held his jersey up when they won so he was there in spirit).

Edited December 4, 2023 by ILMindState

[jersey cubs fan]

8 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

I have seen it suggested that contracts would likely include an opt out after 2025, which would likely follow a full season of Ohtani back on the mound.  I'm not sure that opt out is really as attractive as it looks though.  If teams are already in the  neighborhood of $50M AAV over the life of the contract, how much room is there really for that to increase when Ohtani is entering his age 31/32 season in 2026?  

The attractiveness may be more about giving him a chance to go to a better situation, if after 3 years his new team is in a situation as dire as his old team. 
 

he could probably get a couple more bucks/guaranteed years as well. 

[Bertz]

Anyone else noticing that a lot of the more off-the-wall stuff this winter is coming from Morosi?  Like I'm not saying to give him the Bob treatment, he's earned more than that, but feels like it's been an especially quiet winter and he's sort of just saying stuff to fill space.

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, Bertz said:

Anyone else noticing that a lot of the more off-the-wall stuff this winter is coming from Morosi?  Like I'm not saying to give him the Bob treatment, he's earned more than that, but feels like it's been an especially quiet winter and he's sort of just saying stuff to fill space.

Yeah, I tend to agree here. He's been the oddball on the reporting and it's not normally him who's doing that. He's spelling people's names correctly and not suggesting that Ronald Acuna plays for the Royals, so he's far about Bob. But yeah he's had some weird reports. Glad I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Couldn't tell if it was just because I didn't like his reports or what.

[Cleo James]

Although I think Ohtani is a generational player, I am not in favor of signing him. I worry about the attrition on a body that has been subjected to the strains of hitting and pitching for a number of years. If he tears an ACL, the Cubs lose both a pitcher and a hitter. If he gives up pitching, and becomes an outfielder, his type of body doesn’t necessarily age well. I think the Cubs can utilize their resources in a way that reduces risk over the short and long term. I think they sign Yamamoto and another position player and even better team.
 

[LBiittner]

Jon Heyman doesn't expect Ohtani or Yamatomato  to sign during the winter meetings.

Oh joy. I don't think I can survive another week

[JD94]

3 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

Jon Heyman doesn't expect Ohtani or Yamatomato  to sign during the winter meetings.

Oh joy. I don't think I can survive another week

I don’t know if I can survive another hour 

[Rex Buckingham]

Wish it was Nightengale saying that. Then we would know to look for a signing tonight. 

[Thusly Boned]

5 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

Jon Heyman doesn't expect Ohtani or Yamatomato  to sign during the winter meetings.

Oh joy. I don't think I can survive another week

I just want to know what a Yamatomato is, and if I can eat it

But seriously, I think it was a given Yamamoto wasn't going to get done during the winter meetings, since he as only just posted and started meeting with teams. I'd guess we're a couple weeks off on that front. 

But the Ohtani thing is excruciating, especially since it is mucking up the whole market.

[Jason Ross]

I withhold hope that he signs in the next few days. Much like how it's hard to figure out exactly who's in, and at what level they're in by, it feels like it could be equally as hard for people, even like Jon Heyman, to not know exactly when he's going to sign. There's so little clear here, that I kind of expect it'll just happen without warning. And that might just be my own personal impatience shining through (not at Ohtani, mind you, he can take his damn time and I can't say horsefeathers about it because that'd be unfair of me), but I kind of think no one really knows when this is going to happen and everyone and their mother is just...guessing. It's easier to predict it'll happen later rather than sooner because if you predict sooner and you're wrong, people are mad.

Edited December 4, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 hours ago, Cleo James said:

Although I think Ohtani is a generational player, I am not in favor of signing him. I worry about the attrition on a body that has been subjected to the strains of hitting and pitching for a number of years. If he tears an ACL, the Cubs lose both a pitcher and a hitter. If he gives up pitching, and becomes an outfielder, his type of body doesn’t necessarily age well. I think the Cubs can utilize their resources in a way that reduces risk over the short and long term. I think they sign Yamamoto and another position player and even better team.

Welcome to NSBB!

[Rcal10]

I think the harder choice for him has more to do with where he will be the most comfortable the next several years. He is going to make a lot of money no matter where he goes. No real wrong decision there. But he could make a right or wrong decision on wheee he fits in the best. What team/city provides him with the highest quality of life. Still could take time to make that decision as well. I am just saying IMO at this level of money the bigger decision is where he is most comfortable. 

[WhyCantWeWin]

Don't the winter meetings end on Thursday? He could still sign this week even when the meetings are over. Like that one report saying the next 7 to 10 days 

[Jason Ross]

It sounds as if the Blue Jays GM, Ross Adkins is not in Nashville currently. He is going to zoom in for his daily press meetings because of a "conflict of schedule". It appears, as well, as though Jed Hoyer is not present in Nashville currently, either. Make of it as you wish.

[CubbyBlue2008]

2 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

It sounds as if the Blue Jays GM, Ross Adkins is not in Nashville currently. He is going to zoom in for his daily press meetings because of a "conflict of schedule". It appears, as well, as though Jed Hoyer is not present in Nashville currently, either. Make of it as you wish.

Makes you think…

[Dfan25]

Yeah I read that none of the Dodgers / Cubs / Giants / Blue Jays president of baseball operations are there . Would think the decision is coming this weekend 

[Irrelevant Dude]

2 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

It sounds as if the Blue Jays GM, Ross Adkins is not in Nashville currently. He is going to zoom in for his daily press meetings because of a "conflict of schedule". It appears, as well, as though Jed Hoyer is not present in Nashville currently, either. Make of it as you wish.

The whole concept of the winter meetings seems like a relic of the past anyway, as if every GM isn't immediately accessible to every other GM at any time regardless of where they are physically located.  It sounds more like an excuse for everyone to get together and drink.

[Dfan25]

Also since some people love to speculate based on this sort of stuff Ohtani started following Logan Webb on instagram today .

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

The whole concept of the winter meetings seems like a relic of the past anyway, as if every GM isn't immediately accessible to every other GM at any time regardless of where they are physically located.  It sounds more like an excuse for everyone to get together and drink.

Yeah, I think there's a level of it being...unnecessary any more. I do think things can happen a bit easier when everyone is there. And it probably changes up, to a degree, how things get done. Agents, players, VPs...

 

In the end though, I think much of it isn't as needed as before. With zoom and technology...many of these things can happen much easier.

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

Also since some people love to speculate based on this sort of stuff Ohtani started following Logan Webb on instagram today .

I know it's one of those things that will entirely bite me in the ass, but if Ohtani is that worried about winning, going to the 3rd or 4th best team in a difficult division, one of which has been dominated by the Dodgers, regardless of whatever plan they have, would seem to be a strange choice and I have a hard time seeing him ending up there.

Edited December 4, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[WhyCantWeWin]

2 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I know it's one of those things that will entirely bite me in the ass, but if Ohtani is that worried about winning, going to the 3rd or 4th best team in a difficult division, one of which has been dominated by the Dodgers, regardless of whatever plan they have, would seem to be a strange choice and I have a hard time seeing him ending up there.

I could see the giants outbidding everybody else, they seem thirsty for a superstar. If he ends up there it's because he chose money. 

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

I could see the giants outbidding everybody else, they seem thirsty for a superstar. If he ends up there it's because he chose money. 

I guess. For me, it just feels like we're at this level of money being speculated for Ohtani that it seems near impossible for a team to outbid another at such a level. We'll see, though. Maybe the Cubs can do that. 

[gocubs218]

Last year proved horsefeathers can get done at the meetings. But Judge and Scherzer signed early. Same with Turner and Bogaerts. Unfortunately one player is holding up everything this year.