Regardless of the good early returns from their deadline haul, the Dodgers are coming off a relatively underwhelming commerce deadline.
They primarily acquired infield depth and pitching assist, however they didn’t get an enormous splash like Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, or Nolan Arenado.
However in the end, not one of the members of that trio are the grand prize. That title belongs to present Los Angeles Angels two-way celebrity Shohei Ohtani, who’s set to hit free company on the finish of this season.
There are certain to be loads of suitors for his providers — together with the Dodgers — and massive market, high-spending groups are the franchises that in all probability have a authentic probability to land him.
And a kind of groups, the New York Mets, might have taken themselves out of the Ohtani chase, based mostly on what former Mets pitcher Scherzer needed to say after his commerce to the Texas Rangers.
Scherzer has a full no-trade clause in his contract, and he went to the Mets’ entrance workplace to gauge their path for the franchise.
And in accordance with him, his former staff appears to be going right into a rebuilding part.
The Mets have a 2023 payroll of simply over $344 million per Spotrac, a quantity that places them on the high spot within the majors by a big margin.
Simply off their willingness to spend cash and a roster that, on paper, may’ve been among the best in MLB, they’d’ve made them contenders to signal Ohtani this winter.
However after a disastrous season has seen them fall out of playoff rivalry and unload Verlander, Scherzer, Tommy Pham, and Mark Canha, the Mets seem like they gained’t be bidding within the Ohtani sweepstakes.
This improvement clears one hurdle out of the best way for the Dodgers as they get set to make a play for the baseball icon this offseason. LA’s been linked to Ohtani for some time now, and the probabilities for them to convey him to Dodger Stadium might have simply gotten a lift.
Picture Credit score: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports activities
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