Shohei Ohtani was not the biggest domino of this baseball offseason. He was the Star Wars blockbuster, Taylor Swift concert, Stranger Things finale that made us forget there were any dominos in the first place.
Ohtani fueled his own hot stove. He was a free agent so distinct — so on-the-field potent and in-the-culture significant — that any team with money could have justified signing him. Need? Who thinks about need with a player like this? It’s like Jeopardy: Ohtani is the answer, and you figure out the question later.
In this case: Who is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ new designated hitter?
On Saturday, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million deal. It is, of course, the largest contract in baseball history. There is only one Ohtani.
But can we interest you in a former MVP, a reigning Cy Young, or a Japanese ace?
Ohtani was, of course, No. 1 on The Athletic’s big board of free agents, and No. 2, Aaron Nola, has also signed, but 22 of our top 25 free agents remain available, and the trade market has barely budged. Now that Ohtani is off the market, baseball can settle into a far more typical offseason. These are 10 players who could see their markets finally take shape now that a baseball unicorn is no longer blocking out the sun.
1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
He’s now the biggest free agent in the world, and for some teams, he might have been the primary target all along. Yamamoto is a 25-year-old superstar. He’s just never proven it in the big leagues. There is, of course, some associated risk, but because of his age, ability, and Japanese track record, some teams — maybe even most teams — entered the offseason with Yamamoto as the top-ranked pitcher on the market. He’s not an icon on Ohtani’s level, but for Major League teams interested in branding beyond North America, Yamamoto carries some of the same international appeal. And, like Ohtani, only the deepest pockets are going to have a shot. Teams on the periphery of the Ohtani chase like the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox have seemingly been hard after Yamamoto this entire time, and they could now be facing redoubled competition from the teams who were finalists for Ohtani.
2. Cody Bellinger
Ohtani did carry some limitations. He’s not likely to pitch next season because of elbow surgery, and so he’s pretty much limited to designated hitter in the short term. The best all-around free agent position player has always been Bellinger, who can play a good center field, just won his second Silver Slugger, and finished top 10 in MVP voting. He experienced a tremendous bounce-back season just in time to hit the open market as a 28-year-old. For any team needing to juice its lineup without Ohtani, Bellinger is the best bet on the open market.
3. J.D. Martinez
Other than Ohtani, Martinez has always been the best, most proven pure designated hitter on the free agent market. And now that teams with room to add a full-time DH — Blue Jays, Cubs, Red Sox, Giants, Mets, Rangers — have missed out on Ohtani, they can shift to the rest of the market, which includes 36-year-old Martinez coming off a 134 OPS+ and yet another All-Star selection with the Dodgers last season. For teams that need a DH who can also help out in the field, the market opens up a bit.
4. The other designated hitters
Modern roster building values versatility, and while every team now has a designated hitter, very few employ a DH who can do only that. So, for those teams in the market for a bat, but want a DH who can do a little more, it’s time to sort through the rest of the Ohtani alternatives.
• Rhys Hoskins — For those teams betting on post-injury upside who have some first-base playing time also available.
• Mitch Garver — For those teams who could use help at catcher and like a guy who just won a World Series.
• Jorge Soler — For teams interested in 30-homer pop and the ability to at least occasionally play the outfield corners. See also: Teoscar Hernández.
• Justin Turner — For teams needing an occasional corner infielder but mostly wanting a DH who, at 39, can still hit and transform a clubhouse.
• Brandon Belt — For teams specifically needing a left-handed hitter (like Ohtani), Belt is a soon-to-be 36-year-old who had an .890 OPS against righties last season.
5. Blake Snell
There is no splashier offseason addition than Ohtani, and for teams that seem to be (or should be) in the market for star power — we’re looking at you Giants, Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs and Yankees — the reigning National League Cy Young would certainly move the needle. Snell is an unusual pitching superstar because he’s won a Cy Young twice, but those are the only seasons in which he’s thrown as many 130 big-league innings. And even in those years he threw only 180 and 180 2/3. He’s not exactly a workhorse, but when he’s healthy, he’s a 31-year-old with a 3.20 career ERA and enough strikeouts to make up for his high walk totals. Snell is one of the few proven free agent stars still available.
6-7. Shota Imanaga, Jung Hoo Lee
On some level, it’s absurd — even ignorant — to suggest that being from a similar area of the world makes players like Imanaga (a Japanese pitcher) and Lee (a Korean outfielder) reasonable alternatives to Ohtani. But the fact is, some teams scout Japan and Korea more aggressively than others. Some teams are more comfortable projecting the leap from the NPB or the KBO to Major League Baseball. And some teams are better positioned to take financial advantage of such an international connection (think of the Mariners’ track record with Japanese players, or the Yankees’ international brand, or the Red Sox’s mix of the two). It’s not hard to imagine a team that became obsessed with Ohtani a decade ago becoming more recently intrigued by Imanaga or Lee.
8. Matt Chapman
Because Ohtani is a unique player, it’s almost impossible to pivot to someone just like him. Teams that lost out might have to go in a radically different direction. Not every team, for example, would have a third-base opening for Chapman, but some will, and that’s the interesting thing about the impact of Ohtani finally coming off the board. As teams who stayed engaged now search for alternatives, we could see them scatter in a dozen different directions. Some might try to fortify their pitching, some might try to add offense via the outfield, and some might go after easily the most impactful free-agent infielder on the market. Ohtani and Chapman are radically different, but for some teams, Chapman might be the most logical fallback plan. For the Blue Jays in particular, bringing back Chapman might be a logical next step after falling short on Ohtani and seeing third-base option Jeimer Candelario head to Cincinnati.
9-10. Dylan Cease, Tyler Glasnow, et al.
Again, Ohtani is a unique player, and teams engaged in his free agency from any number of angles. Some specifically needed a hitter. Some liked the idea of putting him in the rotation next year. Some just wanted to get better and chase a championship. As Ohtani pursuers shift gears and start looking for other avenues to improve, the trade market could pick up steam. The biggest trade chip (Soto) has already moved, but there are still some notable pitchers believed to be available, and some less-touted hitters — Jonathan India, maybe? — could end up fitting if an Ohtani suitor decides to splurge elsewhere and take a lesser upgrade at DH.
(Top photo of Bellinger: AP Photo / Matt York)
