Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes: Reports Indicate Dodgers Competitor is Out

While the Dodgers are expected to heavily go after free agent Shohei Ohtani this winter, there also is no shortage of suitors for the two-way superstar. He is the biggest show in baseball, and teams finally have a chance to land him.

But it seems that one of the biggest competitors for the Dodgers to land him is removing themselves from the Ohtani sweepstakes. That would be the Seattle Mariners, and Seattle being removed from consideration is huge news for the Dodgers.

“Industry sources told MLB.com this week that landing Ohtani doesn’t appear to be within the Mariners’ realistic agenda this offseason.”

Per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com

Nobody knows exactly what Ohtani wants or where he wants to go, but the Dodgers are generally seen as the frontrunners to land him. But Seattle was always one of the sleeper spots for him that people heavily pushed.

It has been reported that Ohtani loves the city of Seattle, and his childhood idol was Ichiro Suzuki, the legendary Mariners player. Many have believed that Ohtani would give some real thought to joining the Mariners since they are a good, young team on the rise, and he would get to play in the same city as his idol.

But Seattle seems focused on adding other pieces to their team, and they have more areas on their roster that need attention that Ohtani can’t fix. The other teams that are reportedly competing with the Dodgers for Ohtani are the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. There could be others also, but those are the main few.

It seems that the injury risk for him may be playing into everything for the Mariners as well.

“It can’t be ignored that signing Ohtani comes with notable risk, beyond the basic affixed to all megadeals and the potential to financially hamstring a budget long term. Ohtani’s elbow procedure — his second, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018 — presents a legitimate question of how he fares as a pitcher long term.”

Per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com

The Mariners have been given an up close and personal view of Ohtani over the years since they are in the AL West with the Angels, but for now, they are out. Obviously, things can change, but this takes a major player in the Ohtani sweepstakes out of the equation.

Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

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