Shohei Ohtani, 29, is out for the 2023 season after undergoing elbow ligament splicing surgery. However, he is still a member of the Los Angeles Angels. His post-surgery Instagram post had the final words, Go Halo!
A halo is a light ring around the moon during a total lunar eclipse and means angel.
Ohtani’s second elbow surgery is bound to have a major impact on his free agency after the season. Currently, the general consensus is that he will utilize his opt-out, whether on a short or long-term deal. In reality, it’s a short deal.
The reason for this is that Ohtani’s elbow surgery will allow him to take the mound in 2025. Until last August, he was expected to be a free agent based on the assumption that he would be a two-hitter. However, the surgery will limit him to hitting in 2024. No team is going to spend an astronomical amount of money on a bat.
Experts believe he could resume hitting in 2025, which would allow his agent, Nez Valero, to use his opt-out card to hit free agency again. An opt-out is an optional way out of a contract and into free agency.
The opt-out is the best weapon a player has in his contract. You have absolutely nothing to lose. Of course, if their performance drops, they’ll have to honor their existing contract. In recent years, players have been using opt-outs to maximize their free agency value.
Agent Scott Boras caused a stir when he leaked his client Alex Rodriguez’s opt-out to the New York Yankees in the middle of a World Series game. Commissioner Bud Selig issued a public warning that the World Series was overshadowed by Rodriguez’s personal news.
Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers in the winter of 2000, the largest in North American sports. His agent, Boras, inserted an opt-out clause that allowed him to become a free agent again after the 2007 season. At the time, opt-outs were not yet commonplace. The Yankees eventually re-signed Rodriguez to a 10-year, $275 million deal in November.온라인바카라
Pitcher Zack Greinke also hit the opt-out jackpot twice. When Hyun-jin Ryu joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in the winter of 2012, so did Greinke. It was six years and $147 million. $24.5 million per year. Greinke’s agent, Excel Sports Management, put in an opt-out clause after three seasons.
In 2015, after three seasons, Greinke was 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA (first in MLB) and a Cy Young Award-winning performance. In December, he signed a six-year, $265 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Annualized salary $34.41 million. At age 32.
Ohtani, who turns 30 in July 2024, could sign a free agent contract that breaks MLB’s salary record in the 2025 season, when he’ll be a two-hitter. It will be interesting to see what his agent, Nez Valero, will do in free agency after the season.