Rumors: MLB insider lists SF Giants among favorites for Shohei Ohtani

Could the SF Giants actually be one of Shohei Ohtani's top options in free agency this winter? According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the answer is yes.

The SF Giants have come close to nabbing top free agents a few times. Aaron "Arson" Judge had them as his second choice behind the Yankees. Carlos Correa almost joined the Giants before his ankle X-rays urged him to stay with the Twins. Bryce Harper wanted to be locked up by the Phillies for 13 years, which sounds like a prison sentence, but it meant the Giants missed on him. But no one will care about any of that if they add Shohei Ohtani.

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani smiles in the dugout. (2023) / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ohtani is mere months away from free agency. And according to Jon Heyman, the SF Giants are again one of the top free agent's top choices.  

Ohtani plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, where he's in the middle of an unprecedented season. He's threatening to lead the American League in home runs and strikeouts - as a pitcher.

Ohtani is 7-3 on the mound, where he's striking out 12 batters per nine innings. At the plate, he's leading the league in home runs, RBIs, triples, and slugging percentage. He's hitting the absolute hell out of the ball, perhaps why he's slugging .666. He rules.

Heyman calls Ohtani "baseball’s best player, maybe ever," which at this point is barely even hyperbole. But according to Heyman, the Giants are one of three teams with the best shot at signing Ohtani this winter: The Angels, the Giants, and of course, the dreaded Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles.

There's an assumption that Ohtani's next contract will start at $50 million at the lowest, but beyond that, he wouldn't necessarily choose the highest offer. There's also a belief that he "wants to win and may prefer the West Coast."

The case for the Giants, according to Heyman:

"The Giants have the $360M left from the Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa pursuits and are in excellent shape financially (and maybe in even better shape with the A’s almost sure to be leaving for Las Vegas)."

The Angels may have the incumbent advantage, but it should give Ohtani pause that while he's been putting up historic numbers, the Angels haven't once made the playoffs. And if the season ended today, they wouldn't make the playoffs this year either.

Usually saying "historic numbers" is also hyperbole, but Ohtani is literally accomplishing things no baseball player has done in this century, or last century. For example:

Shohei Ohtani of the @Angels is the first MLB player to reach base 4+ times, hit 2+ home runs and strike out 10+ batters all in the same game since Jack Stivetts did so for the St. Louis Browns against the Toledo Maumees on June 10, 1890.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 28, 2023

Yes, the last time someone reached based four times while hitting two home runs and striking out ten batters, it was against a team called the "Toledo Maumees" in a league where the pitcher's mound was only 50 feet from home plate. The Maumees, formerly the "Black Pirates," folded at the end of the season, perhaps because they couldn't get the city of Las Vegas to give them a free ballpark, since it wouldn't exist for another 15 years.

The other contender for Ohtani's services is the Dodgers, because of course it is. The Dodgers have cleared salary for Ohtani, in part by letting a second star shortstop leave in free agency in as many years.

Heyman also explains that New York Mets' owner and accused insider trading profiteer Steve Cohen said his current payroll was "not sustainable," especially when the Mets are 36-46. And reportedly the Yankees didn't think Ohtani liked them, or New York City, when he was a free agent six years ago.

For their part, the Giants have roughly $60 million coming off the books with the contracts of Joc Pederson, Alex Wood, Brandon Crawford, and Tommy La Stella expiring. Raises, arbitration awards, and rising contracts will cut into that, but the Giants are getting contributions from nine different pre-arbitration (read: dirt-cheap) players this season, which allows for a tremendous amount of payroll flexibility.

To be clear, they absolutely could have afforded Ohtani anyway. But having so many rookies and young players excelling means it's an easier sell to convince principal owner Charles B. Johnson to devote some money to the best player in baseball instead of funding Herschel Walker's next campaign or a legal assault on a crab shack.

What does this mean for the Giants? Fans should be encouraged, especially if (let's be honest: when) the Angels miss the playoffs. Historically this just means the Giants will fall just short, and Ohtani will explain how much he loved San Francisco, and then he'll dump Logan Webb fastballs into McCovey Cove every time the Dodgers visit SF.

Heyman didn't mention another big-spending West Coast team as an Ohtani target - the San Diego Padres. But he did drop an interesting tidbit about a very appealing consolation prize in this winter's free agent derby. 24-year-old Padres slugger Juan Soto is a free agent, and the team's "chances to re-sign him don't seem especially promising."

SF Giants fans can only hope he doesn't have a secret, unreported ankle injury.