Chicago Cubs Willing to Meet Potential Negotiating Terms for Ohtani

It seems like the Chicago Cubs are willing to do just about anything to land Shohei Ohtani this offseason.

The Chicago Cubs seem prepared to have a massive offseason as they attempt to make the organization's goals of becoming a perennial contender a reality.

To do that, they'll need to keep adding more and more elite talent to their roster after coming one game short of the playoffs last season.

There would be no better place to start than signing the best player in baseball, Shohei Ohtani.

After missing out on the Japanese phenom back in 2017, it seems like the Cubs are going to go "all in" on landing the unicorn player this time around in free agency.

Speculation has started to swirl that Ohtani and his agent could be looking for a short-term contract that would allow him to hit the open market once again when he is able to fully recover from his elbow injury.

In the past, Chicago's front office has not been willing to offer those types of deals.

However, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score is reporting that they could make an exception in this case.

"The Cubs understand it will take a historic offer to land Ohtani, and they're willing to be creative in negotiations. With Ohtani’s pitching career on hold for one season, the Cubs would likely be willing to give him the flexibility to have opt-out language in the contract," he writes.

That is a positive in their pursuit of the phenom.

In theory, as Ohtani recovers from his Tommy John surgery in 2024 and is only hitting, his opt-out clause could come after the 2025 season when he returns to pitching.

If he shows his Cy Young caliber form on the mound post-surgery, then he would opt-out and cash in as the true unicorn type of player that he is.

The Cubs will likely try to get a deal done without putting this type of clause into the contract, however, it's a good sign that Jed Hoyer and his front office are at least considering being creative in this deal to land the superstar.