San Francisco Giants Among the Finalists for Shohei Ohtani

One of the biggest names on the free agent market has narrowed his list of potential teams, and the San Francisco Giants are still in the mix for Shohei Otani.
The Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes isn’t the only game in town. Japanese free agent Shohei Ohtani has narrowed the list of teams he would potentially be willing to sign with, and the San Francisco Giants find their names on that list.
The Japanese superstar clearly has a preference to the West Coast, judging by his list, as the majority of team on Ohtani’s short list reside on that side of the country. Along with the Giants, the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Los Angeles Angels are west coast teams that will have another meeting with the well-hyped talent. Being on that coast isn’t a precursor to a second meeting, however, as the Oakland Athletics appear to be out of the running.
The only non-coastal teams that are on Ohtani’s list appear to be the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers. All of this information comes courtesy of Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, whose twitter fingers were in rapid motion trying to spread all of the Ohtani information. Ken Rosenthal confirmed the known list of teams as well.
Ohtani has captured the imaginations of MLB clubs with his legendary status as a 23-year-old, two-way star who can impact a team in so many different ways. Over his five-year career with the Nippon Ham Fighters in NPB, he dazzled fans with his once-in-a-lifetime combination of blazing fastball and monster home run power.
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As a left-handed hitter, Ohtani owned a .286/.358/.500 slash-line with 70 doubles and 48 home runs in Japan after beginning his career at 18. His last two seasons have been his best with the bat. In 2016, he hit .322/.416/.588 with 22 home runs in 104 games. The year after, he hit .332/.403/.540 with 16 doubles and eight home runs in 65 games.
On the mound, he has a 2.52 ERA and 1.076 WHIP with 624 strikeouts in 543 innings. 2016 was his best season, with a 1.86 ERA and 0.957 WHIP to go with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Otani has the most impressive fastball in NPB history, throwing a 102.5 mile-per-hour (165 kph) fastball that ranks as the fastest pitch in league history. That pitch broke the record that Otani himself had set previously.
However, Ohtani has not played the outfield since 2014, which could give the National League clubs just the tiniest bit of pause. With excellent speed (called “elite” by Passan) and an incredible throwing arm (obviously), he should have all the tools necessary to play, at the very least, a competent outfield.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy has given beat writer Alex Pavlovic a road map of sorts to giving Ohtani 300 to 400 plate appearances, if he indeed chooses the Giants. In a plan that would probably pique Madison Bumgarner‘s interest, the Giants could slot Ohtani into the rotation and have him play outfield in the days following his start before getting a day or two off to prepare for his upcoming start. It would also help the depth of the team to have a pinch-hitter like Ohtani lurking in the shadows on days he isn’t in the starting lineup.
But if a team is serious about letting Ohtani pitch and hit (and it seems that’s the only way Ohtani will sign), the designated hitter should be seen as a big advantage for the American League teams. Allowing him to DH on his non-pitching days would be a great way to cut the risk of injuries that come from playing the outfield while still keeping his bat in the lineup.
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The list of finalists isn’t actually final yet, and more teams could be in the mix. But with at least seven teams still in the mix, this is a process that could take a while. It’s a big, life-changing decision for a 23-year-old, so he should certainly take the team to ensure he’s making the right choice.