As Major League Baseball inches closer and closer to the dog days of summer, the talk surrounding the future of Shohei Ohtani is only going to continue to heat up. The Los Angeles Angels are currently in third place in the American League West and are on the outside looking in as far as a Wild Card spot is concerned.
With two-thirds of the season remaining, there’s still a lot of baseball left to play. But, the Angels will have a decision to make on Ohtani by the time the trade deadline rolls around, as the team seems unlikely to keep the two-way superstar beyond next season.
With that, many have started looking ahead to free agency and possible suitors for the generational talent that is Ohtani. Among the popular names that have been floated around are the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, and Giants. It remains to be seen if Ohtani is set on the West Coast or has his aspirations set on The Big Apple.
A certain former pitcher, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, believes that Ohtani’s best fit is in New York—with the Mets.
Prior to TBS’ coverage of the Mets game against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, Pedro Martinez touched on Ohtani joining his former general manager Billy Eppler in Queens. It should be worth noting that Martinez played for the Mets from 2005-08, albeit under different ownership.
Pedro says he likes the Mets as a Shohei landing spot 👀 pic.twitter.com/wKdOR2qraC
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) June 6, 2023
“I actually like that idea,” Martinez said in regards to Ohtani joining the Mets in free agency. “And you know what? I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets will have a run at it. And you know why? Because I remember I was there for the Mets Legends Game (Old Timers’ Day) and I had the opportunity to sit down with him (Mets owner Steve Cohen) before we started doing the things that we were gonna do. And I said to him, ‘Are you optimistic that you can get this team to go and get a championship?’ And he said, ‘Yes, of course. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to have a team out there that can win it. ‘
And I said, ‘It’s not whatever it takes, it’s go and take it.’ And he says, ‘Yes, I’m gonna do that!’ I’m gonna trust him to do that. And for a guy that has put so much money into this team, leaves no doubts that he is able to do whatever he wants to do and he’s gonna be able to do it if he has the opportunity. So, don’t disqualify Ohtani being chased by the Mets.”
It remains to be seen if Ohtani ends up in Queens, but the Mets, who have the largest payroll in baseball, will certainly do whatever it takes to bring the 28-year-old superstar over to the East Coast; no matter the cost.
[B/R Walk-Off on Twitter]
