03/28/23 04:59:00
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03/28 16:57 CDT MLB free agent watch: Ohtani leads possible 2023-24 class
MLB free agent watch: Ohtani leads possible 2023-24 class
By JAY COHEN
AP Baseball Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- The number will follow Shohei Ohtani until it is over. No, not
Ohtani's home runs or strikeouts or any of his magnificent numbers from the
field. Nothing like that.
It's all about how much. As in how much will his next contract be worth.
Ohtani is among several players going into their final seasons before they are
eligible for free agency. There is still time for signatures and press
conferences before opening day, but history shows a new contract becomes less
likely once the real games begin.
There is no real precedent for placing a value on Ohtani's remarkable skills,
especially after baseball's epic offseason spending spree. And that doesn't
factor in the potential business opportunities that go along with the majors'
only truly global star.
Ohtani hit .273 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs last season in his fifth year with
the Los Angeles Angels. The 2021 AL MVP also went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA in 28
starts on the mound.
He prepared for this season by leading Japan to the World Baseball Classic
championship, striking out fellow Angels star Mike Trout for the final out in a
3-2 victory over the United States in the final.
Ohtani, who turns 29 in July, could set multiple records with his next
contract, likely in the neighborhood of a $45 million average annual value and
quite possibly reaching $500 million in total.
If the Angels drop out of contention in the rough-and-tumble AL West, Ohtani
likely becomes the top name on the trade market this summer. If the Angels are
in the mix for the playoffs, the pressure builds on the team to get something
done before possibly losing Ohtani in free agency for nothing more than a
compensatory draft pick.
So yeah, definitely high stakes with Ohtani and the Angels.
Here is a closer look at five more players eligible for free agency after this
season:
RHP AARON NOLA, PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Nola, who turns 30 in June, went 11-13 with a 3.25 ERA in 32 starts for
Philadelphia last year. He also had a career-best 235 strikeouts in 205 innings
for the NL champions.
Nola was selected by the Phillies with the seventh overall pick in the 2014
amateur draft. There were extension talks during spring training, but it didn't
work out.
"We are very open-minded to trying to sign him at the end of the season,"
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said. "We're hopeful that
he'll remain a Phillie for a long time."
3B MATT CHAPMAN, TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Chapman hit 36 homers and drove in 91 runs for Oakland in 2019. He hasn't been
able to duplicate that production, but the three-time Gold Glover finished with
27 homers and 76 RBIs in 155 games last year in his first season with Toronto.
Chapman turns 30 on April 28. Long one of the game's top fielding third
basemen, he is represented by Scott Boras, who generally takes his clients to
free agency.
OF TEOSCAR HERNANDEZ, SEATTLE MARINERS
Hernndez was acquired in a November trade with Toronto. He hit .267 with 25
homers and 77 RBIs in his final year with the Blue Jays. He was terrific in
2021, batting .296 with 32 homers, 116 RBIs and a .870 OPS.
The change of scenery could help the 30-year-old Hernndez set himself up for a
big payday. He is a .357 hitter with three homers and seven RBIs in 16 games at
Seattle's T-Mobile Park.
OF IAN HAPP, CHICAGO CUBS
The switch-hitting Happ is coming off perhaps his best big league season,
setting career highs with a .271 batting average, 72 RBIs and 42 doubles in 158
games. He also won his first Gold Glove and made the NL All-Star team for the
first time.
Chicago had struggled to re-sign its own players in recent years, but it agreed
to a $35 million, three-year contract with infielder Nico Hoerner on Monday.
The 28-year-old Happ, a first-round pick in the 2015 amateur draft, is on the
executive subcommittee for the players' union.
LHP JULIO URIAS, LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Uras, who turns 27 in August, likely will have plenty of suitors if he reaches
free agency. He went 17-7 with an NL-low 2.16 ERA in 31 starts for the NL West
champions in 2022, finishing third in NL Cy Young Award balloting. That's after
he went 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA in the previous season.
Uras also is a Boras client, but the Dodgers have one of the majors' biggest
payrolls. Los Angeles also could make a run at Ohtani, which could factor into
its discussions with Uras' camp.
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Follow Jay Cohen at https://twitter.com/jcohenap
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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