Will he stay or will he go? Ohtani straw poll.

[WicketMaiden]

Inspired by Jeff's Ohtani thread. Where are you on this, today? Thanks.

[WicketMaiden]

Title: *beyond 2023?

[Taylor]

Since there is no Doc/IP option, I'll take the Fletcher option.

[mmc]

He’s already packed his bags

[James]

[James]

The real answer is obvious, none of us have any clue so we cant call it. 

[Angel Oracle]

5 minutes ago, James said:

Stranger Things already planted this song in my head.

[TroutField]

I think we have more of a chance than the media makes us out to… 

 

Angels have a decently bright future with some good young players and a minor league system that seems to be showing signs of life. 
 

also as has been mentioned he has it pretty good here in Anaheim, probably comfortable in the area, tons of Japanese people in OC and LA. I know Mike Trout and him are close and that might also be an influence for him. 

[Second Base]

I think it feels like so many Angel fans are sort of living in those projectable fear that their favorite player will leave them and they'll have nothing without him.

If Ohtani leaves, that's on him. No one else. All the Angels can do is show him the best version they can be, and that's what they're doing. They're showing him they'll spend, they're showing him just how good they've become at developing prospects. They're showing him they'll no longer tolerate a lack of production, the best will play regardless of contract. 

And even if Ohtani leaves, yeah that sucks, a little. But it won't define your fandom. And this sport is so team oriented, we know that from years of Trout, that one player doesn't make the difference between winning and losing. 

I think he'll leave and I think it'll be ok. 

[Revad]

10 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I think he'll leave and I think it'll be ok. 

We still have this year and hopefully the playoffs with Ohtani.  If he does leave I’ll still root for him, and if Artie continues to spend at this level while investing in the entire organization the future looks good.

[Justin]

If he has seen enough to convince him to stay, he could sign a contract tomorrow.

If he hasn't seen enough to convince him to stay, I am skeptical that anything will over the next four months. 

 

 

[Angels 1961]

It really is 50 50 if he stays or goes.

[Blarg]

 

2 hours ago, WicketMaiden said:

Inspired by Jeff's Ohtani thread. Where are you on this, today? Thanks.

[aznhockeyguy]

I hope I'm wrong, he's going to the Dodgers.  Ohtani wants to win, he loves SoCal, and he's going to get paid. 

[ukyah]

you can't say there's no chance he would sign with the angels. they've treated him very well and he seems to like it here. it's really about will they pay the money and does he believe he has a winning future here. the angels have a better shot than probably more than half the rest of the league, but there's a few other teams that can offer those two things almost with certainty, and that's where you'll lose him.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Arte is already eyeing Juan Soto as a backup

[UndertheHalo]

I really don’t know how anyone could really lean one way or another.  There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful about the Angels and he’s had plenty of reasons to doubt the franchise as well.  It seems to me that he genuinely likes it with the Angels and if he thinks he’s can an accomplish his goals with the Angels then why wouldn’t he stay? 
 

it’s about how much Arte is going to be willing to spend *AFTER* he gives Ohtani the deal.  And also, how the Angels look through the end of the year.  It’s 50/50. 

[gurn67]

I think if he stays, it will be similar to Trout and Weaver. There will just be a surprise press conference in the next month announcing a long-term extension. If he hasn't signed an extension, and he's still in an Angels' uniform after the trade deadline, he's gone. I know Arte hates opt outs, but that may be one way he can get a deal done. Almost every large payroll club has done them.

[Jeff Fletcher]

I guess I have to pick “the Fletcher option.”

 

[Jeff Fletcher]

8 hours ago, James said:

The real answer is obvious, none of us have any clue so we cant call it. 

This is probably the most accurate thing anyone has written about this.

I have stood next to Ohtani and listened to him answer questions more than just about anyone on Earth and I truly believe his entire goal in interviews is NOT to provide any insight. Not about his future. Not about what pitches he throws. Not about what he does away from the ballpark. 
 

People can take one little comment he makes here or there and try to run with it or extrapolate other meanings, but that’s all pretty shaky stuff. 
 

Even my 30 percent estimate is based mostly on knowledge of what he HASN’T said, plus a general history with the way MLB players operate. 

[Kendo36]

You can tell Ohtani is a creature of habit and would prefer to stay. But the Angels have to be competitive. I think he’s looking for reasons to stay. Need to win and win some more. He’s competitive and proud. He would like nothing more than to shut up the media. You’re foolish if you think that doesn’t mean something to these guys. Especially someone as competitive as Shohei

[BTH]

33 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

This is probably the most accurate thing anyone has written about this.

I have stood next to Ohtani and listened to him answer questions more than just about anyone on Earth and I truly believe his entire goal in interviews is NOT to provide any insight. Not about his future. Not about what pitches he throws. Not about what he does away from the ballpark. 
 

People can take one little comment he makes here or there and try to run with it or extrapolate other meanings, but that’s all pretty shaky stuff. 
 

Even my 30 percent estimate is based mostly on knowledge of what he HASN’T said, plus a general history with the way MLB players operate. 

The best we can do is learn from his actions, and one of those is that he hasn't signed an extension with the Angels.

Now, there's 500 million reasons why he might want to wait until free agency.

But if he was truly comfortable here right now, he probably would've signed an extension. Because if he has a major injury, he losses hundreds of millions of dollars.

[Make Angels Great Again]

If nothing else I’m begging Ohtani to re-sign just to see the absolute bitch fit that would take place across baseball media/fans.

it would rival the MSM reactions to the 2016 election, and it would be glorious.

[Jeff Fletcher]

18 minutes ago, Trendon said:

The best we can do is learn from his actions, and one of those is that he hasn't signed an extension with the Angels.

Now, there's 500 million reasons why he might want to wait until free agency.

But if he was truly comfortable here right now, he probably would've signed an extension. Because if he has a major injury, he losses hundreds of millions of dollars.

That is true. But the window for that to happen hasn’t been that big. 
 

He wasn’t really good until 2021, so I don’t think he or the team was really ready to bet long-term on what he would be after one season. And then 2022 came and he did it again, but the team sucked and Arte was selling. So then you’re into 2023, which is the last year before free agency, so at that point it’s tough to commit until you see how the team looks. 
 

I think maybe the only real window when it looked logical from both sides was around May 2022, but then by June they had a 14-game losing streak and Maddon got fired so the org looked to be in a bit of chaos, and soon after that Arte was thinking of selling. 

[James]

10 hours ago, Trendon said:

The best we can do is learn from his actions, and one of those is that he hasn't signed an extension with the Angels.

Now, there's 500 million reasons why he might want to wait until free agency.

But if he was truly comfortable here right now, he probably would've signed an extension. Because if he has a major injury, he losses hundreds of millions of dollars.

A little problem with this logic is he, Ohtani, has already proved this outlook fallible to some degree. How so? He could have waited to come to MLB just one more season and he would have made much more money however he wanted to be here so he came even knowing he was missing out on money. He just may look at it much different than most, we just really dont know. Do Japensese players in the NPB tend to sign extensions mid season or even mid contract? I don't know either way but I would understand why Ohtani would only focus on baseball during the season and not willing to talk contract. Also, considering what Degrom got with his severe injury history, not so sure he loses that much money due to an injury. 

Edited June 14, 2023 by James