Shohei Ohtani Rumors: Mets Could be 'All-In' on Former Angels Star
The 2024 season might mark a new beginning for Shohei Ohtani's MLB career as the Japanese superstar hits free agency in the winter.
Among plenty of potential suitors across the board, the New York Mets appear to be an option to sign this spring's WBC MVP to a massive contract.
"[Steve] Cohen, I think he'll be all in. Even without him pitching, you put Ohtani's left-handed bat in the middle of that lineup and it makes them a completely different offense and a team that could contend to win a championship, if you can get some pitching to go with that. So I expect Cohen to be in fully. Everybody's thinking that Ohtani wants to stay on the west coast. We haven't heard that from him -- it's a lot of speculation here. If he wants to come east, I think Cohen will make it happen."
via John Harper, SNY
Steve Cohen wasn't shy to spend big in his first offseason as Mets' owner after he handed out massive deals to help both the pitching and hitting corps of his team.
Brandon Nimmo inked a massive eight-year extension to pair with Francisco Lindor's huge extension to likely keep him a Met for the rest of his career.
Kodai Senga also inked a deal with New York last offseason after Cohen's aggressive pursuit, joining pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to headline a lethal rotation.
Things quickly unraveled in Queens after tons of losses all but left New York out of contention.
Cohen pivoted back on his aggressive offseason and ended up trading multiple veterans at the deadline in a play for 2024.
Though the Mets missed the playoffs this season, next year could be very different with Ohtani on the roster.
The Mets would greatly welcome the best player of his generation and the Halos would likely be scrambling for answers as to how to replace their MVP for the past three years.