PHOENIX — Saw a tweet Monday night that nearly made me leave the earth. Sources telling MLB Network’s Jon Morosi that the Arizona Diamondbacks are among the teams inquiring about Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani.
After I picked my jaw off the floor, I texted a D-backs source and asked, “are you guys in on Ohtani?”
The sent back the quote, “not right now.”
Well --- THEY SHOULD BE. Don’t think or call the bank or accountant. Just do the deal, and I promise you’ll print money later. There is no grater investment a baseball team could make than to trade for Shohei Ohtani.
In case you need to catch up, Ohtani is today’s Babe Ruth or Sultan of Swat or Colossus of Clout or Great Bambino. He’s the greatest baseball player on the planet. A two for one -- power hitter and a dominating starting pitcher.
He leads the MLB in home runs, ranks near the top in many other hitting and pitching stats, and is the front runner for AL MVP. Easily the best available player ever at any MLB trade deadline IF the Angels decided to move him. Ohtani could hit free agency after this season, so the price will be high.
Somewhere in the range of more than it would cost the D-backs to fix Chase Field’s broken roof and less than the cost of building a new ballpark. Expensive, but well worth it.
A trade price could cost up to several top prospects to rent his services for 3-months. The D-backs have it. Their farm system is loaded with talent. But along with selling the farm, you’ll also be shelling out the biggest contract in baseball history to keep him long term. My guess --- start at 10-years, $500 million and go up.
Do the D-backs have that kind of money right now? Hell no. They’ve never handed out a contract even in the same ballpark. The closest was Zack Greinke’s $206.5 million contract in 2015. Could they get the money? Without question.
Ohtani’s ask is fair. He’s an international superstar from Japen. A global ambassador for baseball and any business. Just ask their neighbors next door what landing true sports superstars can do for your team, fan base and most importantly, your pocket book. Suns new owner Mat Ishbia is sparing no expense to win a title, and it’s past time D-backs owner Ken Kendrick and his partners do the same.
To make money, you need to spend money, and landing Ohtani would make any team A LOT of money. From international sponsorships to international TV deals --- nearly two Super Bowls worth of eyeballs would tune in regularly to watch regular season games. International media by the hundreds would come to cover Ohtani daily. Phoenix or whatever city the D-backs are playing become tourists destinations. Fans, companies, and even non-sports fans will come from al over the world to watch "Shotime.” Starting to see the dollar signs add up? That’s before all the merchandise sells.
I get it. This is a very un-Diamondbacks move, and there’s no guarantee Ohtani would sign here long-term once you traded for him. The D-backs are a good team and have the roster makeup to be a great one for years to come, but we’ve seen this story. It’s the hard way, it doesn’t usually work and money is always an issue.
Adding Ohtani gives them the superstar they’ve been missing for decades. Adding Ohtani makes the D-backs an international brand, and the ability to make the kind of money that will rival the Dodgers, Padres, Yankees and Mets.
The baseball and money add up, and for a team hurting for both, without a current TV deal, there’s no better investment than Shohei Ohtani.
Those are my comments. Let me here yours on Facebook or Twitter @CamCox12 or email me at Ctcox@12News.com.
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