Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers about a year ago, and it already appears that he has been with the franchise his entire career. However, Ohtani spent his first six years in Major League Baseball with the Angels, and they had a solid chance of re-signing him if they didn’t absolutely botch.
Prior to signing with the Dodgers in free agency, Ohtani was believed to have considered three other teams: the San Francisco Giants, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Angels.
The Angels were the incumbents, and Ohtani was believed to like playing in Anaheim. The Angels were also the only team who declined the Dodgers’ $700 million offer for Ohtani (the majority of the money was postponed).
So, where did it go wrong?
On Thursday, MLB.com released an article by Angels reporter Rhett Bollinger, who spoke with Angels owner Arte Moreno.
Moreno informed Bollinger that the Angels did not match the contract offer for Ohtani because they already had too many large financial commitments on their books.
The Angels owe Mike Trout $37.1 million each season through 2030 and Anthony Rendon $38.5 million per season until 2026.
Let’s get this straight: the Angels made a massive mistake by signing Rendon, and Trout’s deal has been a problem, so they took two problems and chose to use them as a reason to make a third mistake by not signing Ohtani.
The Dodgers benefited from the Angels’ setback.
While recovering from Tommy John surgery, Ohtani focused on hitting and had an MVP season. The 30-year-old hit 54 home runs, drove in 130 RBIs, scored 134 runs, had a.390 on-base percentage,.646 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.036. All of these figures lead the league. He also stole 59 bases.
The Angels could have had similar production, but Moreno had been burnt by several disastrous long-term contracts and decided to draw a line in the sand with Ohtani.
