Angels sign Shohei Ohtani to one-year, $30m deal – the record for an arbitration-eligible player
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LA Angels signs Shohei Ohtani to a massive one-year, $30 million contract for the 2023 season, with the star taking the record amount for a player eligible for arbitration
- Ohtani and the Angels were able to strike a deal before coming to arbitration
- The Japanese sensation will become a free agent at the end of the 2023 season
- Ohtani hit 34 home runs and made history in another great season
- The 28-year-old became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 25 home runs and strike out 100 in back-to-back campaigns
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Shohei Ohtani has received a huge payday and reached a $30 million dollar deal for a year with the Los Angeles Angels.
Ohtani and the Anaheim franchise are now avoiding arbitration after the Angels decided to pay their star the largest salary in the history of players eligible for arbitration.
Ohtani’s deal is fully guaranteed, with no other stipulations. The contract is the largest ever given to a player eligible for arbitration, surpassing the $27 million the Boston Red Sox gave to Mookie Betts in January 2020, a month before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani has one more year with the Angels before moving to MLB free agency in 2023
It’s a huge $24.5 million increase on Ohtani’s $5.5 million profit from the 2022 MLB season.
The 28-year-old Ohtani will still be a free agent after the 2023 season and his future could be tied to the immediate fate of the Angels, who will wrap up their seventh consecutive losing season next week.
He is another strong contender for the AL MVP award alongside the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who tied the AL home run record and approach the batter’s Triple Crown.
Ohtani may have had a great season, but the Angels are languishing at the bottom of the AL
Ohtani hits .276 with 34 home runs, 94 RBIs and a .888 OPS as Halos’ designated batter.
He is responsible for 15 wins from the mound in the current campaign, the fourth most in the AL, while also being third with 213 strikeouts.
The Angels failed to trade Ohtani by the deadline despite being out of the play-off race again, and Ohtani is wildly popular among the club’s fans.
Ohtani made more history in August, becoming the first player in MLB history to record 25 home runs and 100 strikeouts in consecutive seasons.
Shohei Ohtani is the only player to hit 25 home runs and 100 strikeouts in consecutive seasons
The Japanese has repeatedly said that winning will be a key factor in choosing his home after 2023, and Angels owner Arte Moreno is currently investigating a sale of the team.
Moreno’s leadership has been widely criticized during the Angels’ usually miserable game since 2009 and a fresh start with new owners with deep pockets could be the best chance of convincing Ohtani to stay with the franchise he joined from Japan in 2018.
Ohtani immediately won the AL Rookie of the Year award and he achieved unique form last season after making a full recovery from Tommy John surgery.