Article: Sho Time: Could The Twins Really Land Ohtani?

[ashbury]

[USAFChief]

[GP830]

According to CBS Sports-- here are the questions--

 

-An evaluation of Ohtani's pitching and hitting ability
-An explanation of the team's player development, medical training and player performance philosophies
-Spring training, minor-league and major-league facilities
-Details for Ohtani's cultural assimilation
-How the team plans to integrate Ohtani into its organization
-Why the city/franchise is a desirable place to play along with any other relevant "marketplace"         characteristics

 

It all seems very reasonable to me.

[ScooterDance]

I think if I was moving to a foreign country, say China, and there were 30 chinese employers spread across the entire land mass of China, who were willing to pay me large sums of money (even if it's small relative to what he'd get on the open market) to come work for them, I would probably be looking for as much detail as I can.

 

As somebody who's never been to China, I would certainly love to hear about the facilities I'd be working in, the city & surrounding areas, what the onboarding process would look like. 

 

None of that seems out of line.

[sthpstm]

Jon Morosi at mlb.com has the Twins listed as a dark horse among 8 potential spots for Ohtani...

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/262478194/scouting-top-contenders-to-sign-shohei-ohtani/

[Squirrel]

If he doesn't come here, I really hope he doesn't go to the Yankees. I thought that write-up was odd ... because of the Yankees' long history with Japanese players? I guess I wasn't aware of that. But mostly they said 'Because the Yankees will pay him the most.'

[caninatl04]

 

Signing with the Twins

Purchase MLB The Show

Should be a good time

They say he can pitch

Is he a two way play-er?

They say he can hit.

[USAFChief]

 

If he doesn't come here, I really hope he doesn't go to the Yankees. I thought that write-up was odd ... because of the Yankees' long history with Japanese players? I guess I wasn't aware of that. But mostly they said 'Because the Yankees will pay him the most.'

You've forgotten Hideki Matsui already? I wish I could

 

Matsui had 175 MLB HRs, and 173 of them came against the Twins. 

 

Of which, 171 came after the 7th inning, and wiped out a Twins lead.

 

You can look it up.

 

 

[Han Joelo]

This is the hottest hot stove topic since the infamous Dozier to La threads of early '17.  It deserves at least double digit pages.  Come on, folks, let's stoke this baby up.
 
Why he won't go to:
 
NY.  I had a chance to spend a month in China once, while my wife did an acupuncture internship.  Originally, she was supposed to go to a city nearer the Himalayas, and I was all over that.  However, a devastating earthquake decimated the city, and she had to switch to Shanghai.  I had no desire to go to that mass of humanity.  I wanted mountains.  Ohteni is hopefully like me, except maybe he likes lakes instead.
 
LA: https://goo.gl/images/tx15eh
 
Even if the gif doesn't work, suffice it to say it is an image of traffic on the 405.  
 
Texas:  If you cut Alaska in half, Texas would be the third largest state.  If you flattened Idaho, it would be bigger than Texas.  Long story short:  Texas is overrated.  If states had personalities, Texas would be the opposite of Ohtani.
 
Seattle:  If it was me, all things being equal, I'd choose Seattle.  But they aren't equal.  They are a mishmash of old and young; with more than one of the old guys blocking the DH spot.  Seeing how Seattle wasted the prime of KGjr, Ichiro, and King Felix, there isn't a great precedent.  Pass.
 
Boston:  They don't have a chance.  Therefore, he probably goes there.
 
Giants:  Probably not a bad fit.  He might even get to play the field for that woeful offense.
 
The stars have aligned for the Twins.  This is Flavine's chance for a jaw-dropping, signature writing, mic-busting move.  It shall come to pass.

Edited November 28, 2017 by Han Joelo

[drjim]

Buster Olney on his podcast also called the Twins his darkhorse pick. Keith Law didn't exactly agree.

[T_J]

Why he won't chose Seattle... they stink and a poorly ran.

 

One thing we can offer him that the Yankees can't is a chance to beat the Yankees.

Sure, other teams can offer the same opportunity but we also have an exciting young core.

I think we have a real shot here.

[diehardtwinsfan]

all this talk and he signs with the Pirates....

[Squirrel]

 

You've forgotten Hideki Matsui already? I wish I could

 

Matsui had 175 MLB HRs, and 173 of them came against the Twins. 

 

Of which, 171 came after the 7th inning, and wiped out a Twins lead.

 

You can look it up.

Heh ... I wouldn't call the couple of players they've had a long history as that article implied. It looks no longer than several other teams.

[Squirrel]

 

Buster Olney on his podcast also called the Twins his darkhorse pick. Keith Law didn't exactly agree.

What did Keith Law think?

[Squirrel]

It all depends on the stage he wants to play on ... that's what I'm assuming the letters are for ... he'll figure out what he wants from that. But if the long term money is it ... then there we are.

[sthpstm]

 

What did Keith Law think?

 

He didn't pick them as his dark horse. He chose the Phillies as his dark horse where Olney chose the Twins. But when Law spoke about the Twins possibility, his thoughts were pretty similar - open DH spot, could play some outfield, future payroll space, big impact on the pitching, etc.

Edited November 29, 2017 by sthpstm

[drjim]

He didn't pick them as his dark horse. He chose the Phillies as his dark horse where Olney chose the Twins. But when Law spoke about the Twins possibility, his thoughts were pretty similar - open DH spot, could play some outfield, future payroll space, big impact on the pitching, etc.

He also mentioned Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Mariners, Yankees as likely destination. Did say AL had advantage but seemed to think he'd stay on a coast for cultural and marketing reasons.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Honestly, all this "favorites, contenders, dark horse" conversation is all nothing but speculation. This would be true if money was the ultimate goal, but if money was the ultimate goal, Ohtani would wait two years to get posted. He wants something else, and he'd make a ton more money by staying, and in all honesty there's very little additional risk to doing so as his wages the next two years in Japan will be very similar to the best possible MLB outcome in the next two years.

 

I honestly think that just about any MLB team could get him, at least until there's something more concrete about what he really wants. Here's to hoping that what he wants is a bonus north of 3M, a smaller market,  a lake house near by, and a team that lets him play two ways.... one can dream.

[Jham]

To those who inquired as to my questioning whether he has a sense of entitlement, it's only based from the very unique position he's in. (In some sense, entitlement might be an issue for this whole generation of non-impoverished prospects). I've just never heard of a free agent or draft pick asking for recruitment letters. It's different. People questioned the Rays pick for allegedly telling teams not to pick him if they weren't on board with 2 way status. I get that Ohtani is the prettiest girl at the dance. It just seems that a 22 year old kid calling all the shots even in regard to his future boss doesn't fit the humble narrative. Of course is possible to be a humble diva. LeBron is one. Let's hope he's LeBron. Eventually he'll struggle. This is a big step, and it doesn't seem like he expects any struggle. When it happens and he's in a strange country with media and fan pressure and older players who he might take at bats from... how will he handle that? He is asking teams to evaluate how he'll fit. That shows self awareness. But if he doesn't see that his attitude and recruitment might well effect how he's received by his new teammates, that shows lack of awareness. It's refreshing to see a kid who loves the game more than the money. How will those values play in club house filled with very diverse financial backgrounds? Many players grew up poor. Money matters to them. Vets don't like being showed up. Many feel that they earned their big bucks and the right to enjoy that guilt free. He's just a different kind of kid. It could make him special. It could make him am easy target.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Jham

[Twins33]

Copy/pasting from another post I made:

 

There is speculation going around out of Japan that he's already narrowed it down to five teams. https://twitter.com/devanaltman/status/937026619369230336

Not sure how true, link is from cubsinsider and the cubsinsider link includes the link to the Japanese article which supposedly says 5 teams. Anyone able to read Japanese? The Japanese article seems to suggest Padres, Yankees and Dodgers based on an image in the article. The other two are not known.

Some are saying it's just his preferred choices and others think everyone else is already out of the running. Like I said it's all speculation, but if he signs rather quickly we may found out it was true.

Then there is also this:https://twitter.com/cubs1611/status/936734985570091009

I don't watch MLB network and don't see that they've tweeted that. Just figured I'd pass that along too. Personally I'd trust the link from Japan before I would trust MLB network, but it could still be incorrect.

[Squirrel]

This list kind of makes me sick. Other than the Mariners, it’s the high money teams, not in their signing money, but their long-term money. So much for making us think it was about anything else, or at least hoping it was.

[glunn]

 

This list kind of makes me sick. Other than the Mariners, it’s the high money teams, not in their signing money, but their long-term money. So much for making us think it was about anything else, or at least hoping it was.

Another way to look at this is that he is focused on three world class cities (Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers) and two teams that have had very successful Japanese players (Rangers and Mariners).

 

Among these five choices, I would choose the Dodgers -- swimmin pools and movie stars, not to mention great weather, a great tradition and great sushi bars.

[Squirrel]

Another way to look at this is that he is focused on three world class cities (Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers) and two teams that have had very successful Japanese players (Rangers and Mariners).

 

Among these five choices, I would choose the Dodgers -- swimmin pools and movie stars, not to mention great weather, a great tradition and great sushi bars.

Well, but it’s LA. Yuck. Why not the Angels then? Those just seem like superficial reasons to me which wasn’t what initial reports seemed to make us think he was looking for.

[David HK]

No. He'll be a Yankee soon.

 

If I'm his agent, I take a look at how the Asian signings for the Twins have gone- both badly mishandled- and stay the heck away.

 

It's sad, I've love to see this guy as another part of an exciting young core, but...   The Yanks have all the money and exposure in the world, and have had success with their players from Japan- a much better track record.  Just another reason to hate them even harder, I suppose.

[prouster]

No. He'll be a Yankee soon.

 

If I'm his agent, I take a look at how the Asian signings for the Twins have gone- both badly mishandled- and stay the heck away.

 

A player's nation of origin has nothing to do with his success or failure in Major Leagur Baseball. Nor does a previous player's nation of origin have anything to do with a later player's success or failure. How many times does this need to be said?

[David HK]

 

A player's nation of origin has nothing to do with his success or failure in Major Leagur Baseball. Nor does a previous player's nation of origin have anything to do with a later player's success or failure. How many times does this need to be said?

Dude-  did you miss the whole point?  It's about how the Twinks developed and handled these gentlemen, which did not lead to putting them into positions of success.  Quite the reverse of how the Yanks handled their players.   

[bird]

 

You've forgotten Hideki Matsui already? I wish I could

 

Matsui had 175 MLB HRs, and 173 of them came against the Twins. 

 

Of which, 171 came after the 7th inning, and wiped out a Twins lead.

 

You can look it up.

 

 

 

SSS. Cherry picking.

[ashbury]

Among these five choices, I would choose the Dodgers -- swimmin pools and movie stars

Well doggies! I do believe the young fella has struck oil! (Or if you prefer, Black Gold... Texas Tea.)

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Well, but it’s LA. Yuck. Why not the Angels then? Those just seem like superficial reasons to me which wasn’t what initial reports seemed to make us think he was looking for.

Honestly take a look at the Angels' roster and farm system, then tell me you want to play for that team.

[Doomtints]

Everything I have read about Ohtani, which could be BS, implies that he wants to go to a world-class city. I know many might disagree with this, but the USA really only has three of those -- New York, Chicago, and D.C. The rest of the big cities in the US are urban sprawl, strip malls, and chain restaurants.

 

So if what I have read is correct, there are the 5 teams he could go to, 6 if you throw in Baltimore.

Edited December 3, 2017 by Doomtints