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3 reasons why the Mets should be the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes frontrunners
If it wasn't already clear, this is a new era of New York Mets baseball. The times with the penny-pinching Wilpon's are over, and the Mets are all in. They are 30+ games above .500 and are currently the World Series favorite according to Fangraphs.
At the trade deadline, the Mets contacted the Angels to see what it'd take to acquire reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. The Angels had no interest in trading him for some reason, and so the Mets did not end up acquiring him or having any meaningful talks.
The Angels just announced that they will be exploring the idea of selling the team. With Ohtani entering free agency after the 2023 season with likely no interest in re-signing, I believe the Angels will trade him. If they do trade him, the Mets should be considered the favorite to land him.
Angels announce that Arte Moreno is exploring a sale of the team. pic.twitter.com/IUOtxYJnQE
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) August 23, 2022
1) Reason NY Mets should be considered favorites to land Ohtani: They're willing to spend money
Trading for Ohtani likely means extending him. The price will be sky high for good reason. Even with his expiring contract status, Ohtani is still the best player in the game. Nobody has done what he's doing right now, and it's very likely we never see this type of player again.
Ohtani is a Cy Young caliber pitcher on the mound while swinging an MVP level bat. He did win MVP last season when he hit 46 home runs and posted a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts for the Angels.
The Mets have been very clear that they are willing to spend money on pieces they deem necessary. They spent $341 million dollars to extend their franchise shortstop Francisco Lindor. They spent $120 million dollars on Max Scherzer this offseason.
The Mets are well over the luxury tax and will have to stay there in order to remain competitive. Everything we've seen from Steve Cohen's Mets suggests they will be willing to spend whatever it took to trade for and extend Shohei Ohtani.
There are only a handful of teams that would be willing to go to the lengths that the Mets would go to in order to land a player of Ohtani's caliber.
Ohtani would fill two massive needs for New York and would be the greatest attraction in the big city for a long time.
2) Reason NY Mets should be considered favorites to land Ohtani: The Billy Eppler connection
This past offseason, the Mets hired Billy Eppler to be their General Manager. Eppler came with some questionable history as he was the General Manager of the Angels not too long ago. The Angels haven't made the postseason since 2014.
Eppler has made some excellent moves as Mets GM as they had a great offseason that has led them to where they are today. He did also fall short at the deadline not acquiring a reliever the Mets desperately needed.
However, none of this is why he matters in regards to Ohtani. Billy Eppler was the driving force behind Ohtani landing in Anaheim. The Angels stole Ohtani from the Mariners despite their Ichiro connection, and it was in large part thanks to the connection Eppler made with Ohtani.
Eppler had watched Ohtani in Japan and had expressed interest in the Japanese phenom for years. His ability to go the extra mile in negotiations is what set the Angels apart from the competition.
Part of the Ohtani saga has to involve Ohtani liking where he ends up. A chance to reunite with Eppler in the big city on a team ready to win consistently might be very appealing to Ohtani and will definitely be appealing to Eppler.
3) Reason NY Mets should be considered favorites to land Ohtani: They have the pieces to get a deal done
The Mets have the money to extend Ohtani after the 2023 season. The Mets have the Billy Eppler connection. The last piece needed is the trade pieces to land Ohtani. Fortunately, the Mets have those pieces as well.
The Mets have baseball's number one ranked prospect according to mlb.com in Francisco Alvarez. They also have the #19 prospect Brett Baty, the #40 prospect Kevin Parada, and the #90 prospect Alex Ramirez.
The Mets also have first round pick Jett Williams, and other exciting prospects like Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos.
The Mets improved their farm system a lot during this year's draft. The flaw of the system is that it's top heavy, but that's a good thing when it comes to trades like this one. It will take high end prospect talent to land the best player in the game.
Will the Mets have to trade all of their top prospects? I don't think so. Ohtani is going to be entering the final year of his deal and everybody knows the Angels have to trade him so they don't lose him for nothing.
There will be competition, but a lot of teams won't be in the running because they won't be willing to spend what it'll take to keep him for more than one season.
All signs point to Ohtani being dealt this offseason and the Mets seem to check every box needed in order to acquire the superstar. Should be another exciting offseason in Queens.
Next. Ranking the 10 worst contracts in the National League East. dark