How New York Mets Fit Into Shohei Ohtani's Free Agency
In the end, it appears the New York Mets were eliminated before the Shohei Ohtani derby really even started.
In an exclusive interview with USA Today, Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo described the entire process around Ohtani’s free agency.
At one point, Balelo confirmed the finalists — the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Angels, the Toronto Blue Jays, the San Francisco Giants and the ultimate winner, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
So, no, the Mets were never really in the race, it appears. Perhaps that makes some level of sense, given the Mets were in the process of hiring a new president of baseball operations in David Stearns and a new manager in Carlos Mendoza.
Two weeks ago, the New York Post reported that the Mets and the Yankees were pivoting away from deep involvement in talks about Ohtani and Juan Soto, respectively. That now fits, though the Yankees back-tracked and found a way to get a deal done for Soto.
But the Mets’ pivot is reflected in Balelo’s conversation with USA Today, even if he didn’t mention the Mets by name.
Ohtani determined in Spring Training that he wanted to explore free agency, and Balelo planned the process for months in advance. He used the GM meetings in Arizona, right after the World Series, as a dividing line — who was kicking the tires and who was serious?
Turns out the finalists were serious.
Balelo also cleared up some misconceptions and confirmed other reporting about his client’s free agency:
Balelo did ask teams to keep conversations private, there was never an edict that if teams talked about the conversations that it would hurt their chances of landing Ohtani. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed their meeting and Ohtani signed there anyway, Balelo said.
The deferred money was Ohtani’s idea. He will defer $680 million of the $700 million, 10-year deal to after its conclusion. Balelo called its “unselfishness” and said Ohtani should be “praised for this.” He also said he didn’t believe it created a bad precedent that other teams would follow.
The Dodgers didn’t make a late push and increase their offer. It never changed. It was the same as the one the San Francisco Giants offered.
Balelo and Ohtani did talk with the Angels, but team owner Arte Moreno was unwilling to make a deal with that amount of deferred money.
Balelo broke the bad news to the other teams once Ohtani committed to the Dodgers.
Ohtani won’t pitcher in 2024, due to recovery from a procedure to repair his torn UCL, the second such procedure he’s had in his MLB career. He will be a designated hitter in 2024, and he intends to pitch again in 2025.
Ohtani finished 2023 with a slash line of .304/.412/.654/1.066 with 44 home runs and 95 RBI, with his homers leading the American League. As a pitcher he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA with 167 strikeouts and 55 walks. He was the 2023 AL MVP, his second such award.
