Shohei Ohtani is dominating the Chicago White Sox

Why the Chicago White Sox are pitching to Los Angeles superstar Shohei Ohtani is a mystery.

He is absolutely crushing the ball against White Sox pitching.

Ohtani’s slash line against the Chicago White Sox is .412/.524/1.471 with a ridiculous 1.994 OPS.

He has jacked six home runs in 17 at-bats. He belted two home runs last night all while pitching six-and-one third innings.

He rendered the Sox’ bats useless and then punished starter Michael Kopech for leaving a pitch up in the zone.

He jacked his second homer with a cracked fingernail. Granted it is not a major injury, but still, Ohtani is a cheat code against the Southsiders.

The Angels are now 4-1 against Chicago’s AL team and there are still two more games to be played.

Unless the bases are loaded, there is no reason for the Sox to pitch to Ohtani. Yet, the team still does. Manager Pedro Grifol could only point out the obvious after the game that Shohei is a tough out.

Ohtani is a player that the game has not seen since Babe Ruth. He currently has a 3.02 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. His splits are eye-popping as right-handed hitters are batting .171 off of him while lefties are hitting just .189. He has allowed just four earned runs in his last three starts.

Then he goes out in between outings and just crushes the ball. While 99.9% of starting pitchers need like three days to recover from pitching five innings, Ohtani is out there designated hitting or playing the outfield.

He is hitting .304 on the year with a 1.039 OPS. His wRC+ is at 180. He is offensive fWAR is at 34 and his pitching fWAR is 3.5. The only real hole in his game is his defense and he is not playing the field that much.

Ohtani is leading the Majors in home runs with 28. At the rate he hits home runs against the Sox–he has homered in four of the five matchups this season–he should easily get to 30 before this series is over.

Do not expect the Chicago White Sox to pursue Shohei Ohtani in free agency this offseason.

Astonishingly, Ohtani is set to be a free agent after the season.

Sox fans can dream that Ohtani will play on the Southside next season once he hits free agency. Considering he is on pace to be baseball’s first player to get a $500 million contract, his price will be way too rich for owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s blood.

The Chicago White Sox are one of a few franchises that still has not signed a player to a contract over $100 million. It would be an incredible stretch to think that not only would the Sox finally give out that kind of contract with Shohei, but that they would also pony up the GDP of a small country to sign him.

The Sox reportedly tried to trade for Ohtani before the deadline last season. Although, it was probably general manager Rick Hahn just calling to see what it would take and the Angels realizing he could not meet the probable outrageous price.

Even in the rare times, the Sox have considered giving out a major deal, they have been outbid. They claimed to have offered Manny Machado the most money in 2019, but most of it was in incentives where the San Diego Padres were willing to offer more guaranteed money.

That is why the Chicago White Sox are in the middle of seeing their rebuild fail completely.

The team has not been willing to spend the money it takes to legitimately compete for a World Series. Jerry Reinsdorf is still spending like it is 1996 and not 2023. That is why Ohtani will never wear a White Sox uniform.