MLB players believe Shohei Ohtani will head to the Giants’ rivals down south, and they don’t believe the Giants are in the running for his services.
Ohtani will likely become the highest-paid player in MLB history, with some reports suggesting that he will command a contract north of $500 million. He is reportedly already making $70 million per year in contract and sponsorship deals.
Per a survey from The Athletic that garnered 96 responses, players don’t seem to believe the Giants will pony up that sort of cash for Ohtani.
The results were as follows:
- 57.2 percent: Los Angeles Dodgers
- 11.4 percent: Anaheim Angels
- 7.2 percent: San Diego Padres
- 7.2 percent: New York Mets
- 6.3 percent: New York Yankees.
That leaves 10.7 percent unaccounted for. The only other teams receiving multiple votes were the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. San Francisco did make the cut.
Per one unnamed American League player quoted in the story, this is a belief:
The Mets and Padres will get in a bidding war, and the Dodgers will swoop in.
San Francisco has $122 million in payroll committed to the roster for the 2024 season for 31 players, though $48 million is in player options to Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling, the latter two of whom will almost certainly accept their options.
There’s also a $10 million team option for Alex Cobb and plenty of money unaccounted for in arbitration and team control contracts.
