Shohei Ohtani reportedly was never seriously considering signing with Chicago Cubs
By Todd Welter
The Chicago Cubs lost the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. It appears they were never really in it to begin with.
Ohtani signed a record deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers that has caused a lot of angst in baseball based on how much money he is deferring. The feeling going around is Ohtani desperately wanted to join the Dodgers and make sure they had enough money to still pursue other free agents. That is why he was willing to defer such a massive amount of money.
A lot of teams reportedly made him a strong offer. Heck, reports were going around last Friday that Ohtani was on a plane to Toronto to sign with the Blue Jays. Turns out, it was Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec on that plane and Ohtani was at home getting ready to sign with the Dodgers the next day.
Even though all signs pointed to Shohei wanting to be with the Dodgers, it does sound like the Cubs attempted to make an offer to Ohtani.
The problem was Ohtani was not even considering the Chicago Cubs.
According to 670 the Score’s baseball insider Bruce Levine, the club was never a serious contender to sign Ohtani.
.@MLBBruceLevine on the Cubs' failed pursuit of Shohei Ohtani: "They had a serious bid that they were making. Unfortunately, he wasn't serious about the Cubs."
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 14, 2023
Listen to the full segment on @mullyhaugh:https://t.co/vxDw257W6z pic.twitter.com/jLnwvlng6N
Hey, at least there is not $700 million blowing a hole in the Cubs’ payroll for what will seem like an eternity. It is not like they are not going to be playing baseball in 2024.
Plus, Ohtani staying in California makes sense.
Los Angeles is the only American city he has ever known. He is comfortable there. He just wanted to win and that is why he switched over to LA’s National League team.