Shohei Otani - a ten tool player

PLEASE, NO!!

 

That's crazii if he ends up at the Yankees.

 

I think that’s just chatter and not a factor but if it is it’s Very interesting since if that is some odd priority of his it eliminates New York (Tanaka), LA (Maeda, Ryu), and Seattle (Iwakuma). I still think he ends up with the Yankees or Rangers.

 

I'll just throw this out there. I think he's gonna be a bust. No expert reasoning, just a gut feeling. I hope Rangers pay out the a$$ for him.

 

While Astros are a dark horse candidate, the Astros are the best place for him if he wants to win a World Series. No team is more built to win now and to win throughout his career than the Astros.

 

The Astros right now is the Warriors without Durant. A championship team on the verge of a dynasty. Ohtani can be our Durant if he’s as good as advertised. Take all of that and take out the whole c*ntiness attitude and the analogy fits.

 

⚬ The Astros organization is arguably the best in the MLB at player development,
⚬ Stromie is as good a pitching coach as there is in the MLB,
⚬ Hudgens is as as good as it gets for hitting coaches
⚬ Ohtani will have his choice of lockers next to Verlander or Altuve,
⚬ The organization is at the forefront of injury prevention.
⚬ State of the art Spring Training facility at West Palm Beach
⚬ The team has the most fun playing the game of anyone
⚬ Crane is an amazing owner who has gone the extra mile for the city & Puerto Rico
⚬ Beltran (DH) just retired leaving a potential DH spot in the line-up
⚬ Astros have experience having Japanese players - e.g., last year with Aoki
⚬ 2017 World Series Champs!
⚬ AJ Hinch, BA's Manager of the year
⚬ Altuve 2017 MVP
⚬ Club Astros!
⚬ Did I mention Justin Verlander is on the team?

 

The Yankees and Dodgers are both set up to have as good a chance to win the WS over the next 10 years as Houston. Both teams have excellent young cores, good farms, and WAY more money than Houston. If I’m Ohtani I narrow the bidding to those 2 teams and base the decision on their plan for development, marketing, and compensation.

 

You mean he wouldn't be allowed to put his locker next to Yuli??

 

These are decent reasons but unfortunately are more than overshadowed by:

Houston can only offer $300k.

Houston had a player shown on national television mocking an Asian player during the World Series.

Houston’s front office has a reputation for being analytical and squeezing their players for the maximized return on their money.

Houston is in CST, nowhere near the west coast.

Houston is a mid-market franchise.

I will be utterly shocked if Ohtani signs with Houston. To me they’re not even a dark horse. Yankees are the favorites, Dodgers have a shot, Rangers have a shot due to their scouting connections, other west coast teams are dark horses due to location.

 

If Ohtani joins us on the grounds that Yuli has to be traded, would you do it?

 

Any team should refuse to sign him if he gives a stupid ultimatum like that.

 

Japanese headline indicates Ohtani has narrowed his list to 5 teams: Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, and two unnamed teams

 

No. Not because Yuli is some vastly superior player, but because that sends a terrible message to the clubhouse.

 

I'd definitely be shocked if he signed here, but the money will in all likelihood have nothing to do with his decision. Not much difference between $300K and $3 million when you're likely going to sign a solid MLB contract halfway through your first season and are going to have a ton of high-paying endorsement opportunities.

 

From NY Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...ls-news-expect-shohei-otani-article-1.3670136