Angels’ Perry Minasian addresses Shohei Ohtani situation. What did he say?
With the team set to miss the postseason once again, attention has immediately turned to the Angels’ two-way superstar and it looks like he’s not happy.
As reports continue to hint at a massive contract in the realm of $500 million, one has to wonder how much longer the Japanese star will continue to play in LA. At this point, it seems all but certain that he will be elsewhere when the next season begins.
Angels GM Perry Minasian addresses Shohei Ohtani situation
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian met with the press to touch on a number of topics including the dismissal of the team’s manager Phil Nevin, however, it goes without saying that what folks really wanted to know about was the looming free agency of Shohei Ohtani. To be clear, it is generally accepted at this point that Ohtani will be on another team’s roster by the end of winter, however, where that remains to be seen. To that end, it was interesting to note that Minasian opened up about a recent face-to-face conversation that he had with the Japanese star.
“I believe this is a place that he’s enjoyed playing and this is a place that he loves, and it’s got a group of players, teammates that he enjoyed his time with,” Minasian said. “You get the feeling that this is a place that he really, really appreciates, respects. And we’ll just have to see what happens over the course of the offseason.” Now, it’s got to be said that at first glance that seems a bit disingenuous with Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo having previously stated that the two-way sensation will “be in somebody’s lineup next year, DH-ing when the bell rings.” Those comments of course came after indicating that Ohtani will require surgery on his injured elbow. This of course brings us to what Minasian did in fact concede in that he admitted Ohtani is “disappointed” by the team’s inability to win far less make the playoffs in the time that he’s been on the roster.
So what happens now with Shohei Ohtani?
That’s a good question. First things first, is the fact that Ohtani won’t be pitching next season. The aforementioned operation that he will require is in an effort to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. What that means is that the focus will be entirely on his batting, which it has to be said has been exceptional. At the plate, the 29-year-old has posted 184 OPS+, while his overall numbers stand at .304/.412/.654 with an American League-leading 44 home runs across the season. In total his contributions count for an estimated 10.1 wins above replacement according to Baseball Reference’s calculations. This is all to say that wherever he goes, the team who gets him will be getting an unbelievable player. For the moment, we can only watch this space.