Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani will earn $30 million next season after he and the organization agreed to a one-year deal for the 2023 campaign to avoid going into arbitration.
The contract is the largest in MLB history for an arbitration-eligible player, eclipsing the $27 million given to Mookie Betts by the Boston Red Sox in January 2020, a month prior to him being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani’s deal is fully guaranteed with no other incentives.
Ohtani, who is collecting $5.5 million this year, will be a free agent after the 2023 season.
The announcement on Saturday comes in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak and a near no-hit performance Thursday by Ohtani, the defending American League MVP, who on a regular basis accomplishes feats that have not occurred in the majors since Babe Ruth’s glory days. He is a strong candidate for the MVP award again, right behind the New York Yankees Aaron Judge, who has tied the AL home run record (61) alongside Roger Maris and is closing in on the batting Triple Crown.
On the mound, Ohtani’s 15 wins is good for fourth in the AL, his 213 Ks are third and his 2.35 ERA is fourth. At the plate, he is fourth in the league with 34 long-balls and seventh with 94 RBIs.
Ohtani is at 161 innings pitched; one inning short of the mark he needs to qualify to be amongst the league leaders when the season concludes. Ohtani is likely to take the mound in game 162, the final game of the season, at Oakland on Wednesday.
His future could depend on the immediate success of the franchise, who have endured their seventh consecutive losing season. The Angels did not trade Ohtani at the deadline despite having no chance of making the playoffs.
He has repeatedly stated that winning will play a huge factor in choosing his next destination beyond 2023, and Angels owner Arte Moreno is looking into a sale of the team.
Moreno’s leadership has taken a lot of heat for the Angels subpar play on the field since 2009, and a new beginning with an owner who is not afraid to spend money could be the best and only way to incentivize Ohtani to remain a part of the Angels family that he joined in 2018 from Japan. Ohtani immediately took home AL Rookie of the Year honors, and he emerged into a unique form in 2021 after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
