Angels Rumors: Insider Predicts Shohei Ohtani Signs 8-Year Deal with Crosstown Rival Dodgers

He won't be far from the Big A.

The baseball world's long-discussed Shohei Ohtani's impending free agency is finally here as the Japanese superstar once again hits the open market this winter. 

2018 marked plenty of uncertainty around Ohtani's talents but he's proven to be every bit of the unicorn some suspected he'd be after six seasons in Anaheim. 

The presumed 2023 AL MVP doesn't face nearly the same amount of hesitance to sign his talent as he did back then and the market for his services will be extra competitive. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report believes that in the end the Dodgers will steal Anaheim's best player away this offseason on a significant contract. 

Prediction:

Ohtani signs an eight-year, incentive-structured deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers

The 29-year-old won't pitch during the 2024 season after undergoing right elbow surgery, and his future on the mound is cloudy given the fact that he already had a Tommy John surgery under his belt, but even as exclusively an offensive player he is a game-changing addition. His free agency will be the biggest storyline of the offseason, and it's hard to see any path that leads him back to a perennially disappointing Angels team. 

via Joel Reuter, Bleacher Report

Every Halo fan's worst nightmare appears closer to reality by the day especially after a dismal 2023 campaign at the Big A on all fronts. 

Several injuries piled up around Ohtani and he too eventually succumbed to the injury bug by finishing his season on the shelf due to elbow and oblique issues. 

Now free to choose his next location it'd be hard to imagine he sticks around for another season all but guaranteed to be void of playoff baseball. 

Though LA's recent track record doesn't inspire confidence, stakes will matter in October for the first time in his career should he choose Chavez Ravine as his new home.