The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a one-year, $30 million contract with Shohei Ohtani.
In an official announcement on Twitter, the team highlighted that this contract avoids any potential arbitration issues during the offseason.
According to ESPN, Ohtani’s contract is unprecedented, being the most significant single-year salary for an arbitration-eligible player. MLB noted that the Angels’ deal with Ohtani it surpasses the $27 million Mookie Betts received for the 2020 season.
Bleacher Report revealed that this new contract is a giant leap from the $5.5 million Ohtani received in the 2022 season. He originally signed with the Angels in 2017 after his five-season stint with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Japanese Pacific League, per The Athletic.
The reigning American League MVP is one of the team’s elite players. According to Outkick, Ohtani is better than 46% of other hitters in the league, with an impressive “34 home runs and a .359 on-base percentage.”
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It’s also reported that he is striking out nearly 12 hitters per nine innings, ranks fourth in the American League with a 2.35 ERA, and has the third-highest pitching WAR total in the AL.
Aside from his value in the team’s roster, it also cannot be denied that Ohtani is one of the biggest single draws in Major League Baseball.
Currently, he is against Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the AL MVP Award this season and on the list of potential awardees for the AL Cy Young Award, as reported by MLB.
Ohtani is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2023 season unless he and the Angels can reach a long-term deal before then. As he has become one of MLB’s most sought-after sluggers and starting pitchers, the 2021 AL MVP is close to probably setting other records on the free agent market.
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