Recruit Shohei Ohtani to your team? All-Stars make their pitch

Angels' Shohei Ohtani, left, and Dodgers' Mookie Betts meet at second base in a game on July 7 at Dodger Stadium.

Staff Writer

July 11, 2023 5 AM PT

SEATTLE — For all the riches that await Shohei Ohtani this fall, no one knows which uniform he might be wearing next spring. He is poised to land the first half-billion-dollar contract in baseball history and, as the San Diego Padres have shown repeatedly in recent years, teams in the smallest of markets can sign players to the richest of contracts.

In 2017, the last time Ohtani was free to sign with any major league team, he met with seven. Perhaps he will meet with more this time. He will get his money wherever he goes, so teams will not lure him simply by showering him with gobs of cash.

Ohtani has carefully avoided saying what criteria he will use in determining which teams to consider. The Angels never have posted a winning season in his six years in Anaheim, and Ohtani conceded Monday that it “sucks to lose.”

Would there be a team not far from Anaheim that could address that concern?

“He knows the Dodgers win,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts said. “We win a lot.”

Betts was not shy about saying he wanted Ohtani to join his team. He also was adamant that what is best for Ohtani should matter most, Dodgers or not.

“I would love for him to come to the Dodgers,” Betts said. “I would love nothing more for him than to come to the Dodgers.

“But I also want him to make sure he and his family are good, make sure he does what is going to make him happy. He is going to sign for a long time, and for a lot of money. But that is not the only thing that is going to make him happy. I just want him to be happy.”

As teams recruit Ohtani this fall, they could ask their players to pitch in. So, before Monday’s Home Run Derby, we asked Betts and his fellow All-Stars what their 30-second pitch to Ohtani might be.

The talking points ranged from team success to ownership generosity, and from personal safety to a state with no income tax — and, in one case, to French fries. Hey, the Pittsburgh Pirates probably are not going to be the winning bidder for Ohtani, but you never know, so we wanted to ask.

All-Stars, make your best pitch:

AUSTIN RILEY, Atlanta Braves:

We’re going to compete every year. We’re going to have a chance to be in the playoffs every year. I think that’s the reason why you play the game, to win a World Series. We’ve got the young group to do it. We could use him!

PETE ALONSO, New York Mets:

Honestly, it’s a great city to live in. Citi Field is a really fun place to play. We have a great fan base, and it’s just an incredible place to play. That’s the No. 1 thing.

KYLE TUCKER, Houston Astros:

For me, you’ve got to do whatever you want to do for you and your family. That’s the most important thing. But Houston is a really good spot. I love playing there. We play indoors. Really good food. No income tax. We’ve got a really good team. That should speak for itself.

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Josh Hader works against a Tampa Bay Rays on June 17, 2023, in San Diego.

JOSH HADER, San Diego Padres:

It’s San Diego. Do you really need much more than that?

If you’ve ever been to San Diego, you know how beautiful it is. It’s a fun team. We’ve got a lot of great guys, for the long term. He’s a guy they probably want to lock up for a long-term deal, for sure — as long as they can find a billion dollars somewhere.

ALEX COBB, San Francisco Giants:

Knowing Shohei, I know the financial aspect of things is very low on his list. I would tell him that we are an organization that — it sounds silly even to have to say this — the No. 1 priority is to win a World Series. This organization knows how to do it. They have done it many times in the past.

They have an ownership group that is willing to expend all the resources, no matter what is needed at the time. It’s an organization that is really fun to be a part of — they treat the families right, all the outside things that people don’t see that happen on the field, they take a lot of pride in making sure those things are done right. I know that he would feel very comfortable there.

SHANE McCLANAHAN, Tampa Bay Rays:

We win a lot of baseball games.

JORDAN ROMANO, Toronto Blue Jays:

I’ve been a lifelong Blue Jays fan. The fans are great. The front office and coaching staff are amazing. Our field is pretty cool.

Toronto, the city, has got everything. It’s a melting pot. It’s super safe. There’s stuff for the families. There’s nightlife. There’s everything you need in Toronto.

MICHAEL LORENZEN, Detroit Tigers:

It’s a first-class organization. Ownership wants to invest in the organization. They’re putting their money where their mouth is. They’re getting us a new plane. They’re getting us new clubhouses. They’re doing a lot for us.

And Michigan is beautiful. That’s underplayed. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve grown to love it.

ADLEY RUTSCHMAN, Baltimore Orioles:

We’ve got a great clubhouse, great guys. Camden Yards is a blast. We’ve got a fun group. And we’re winning.

MARCUS SEMIEN, Texas Rangers:

You get to play indoors. It’s a temperature-controlled place, and it’s a place he’s done great. He’s done some damage to us. We have a team that wants to win. Everybody wants to win a championship right now. Just being around our owners, they want to provide everything they can for us to win.

NICK CASTELLANOS, Philadelphia Phillies:

I wouldn’t do that. The only thing I would do is tell him and remind him how much control he has in his decision, which I’m sure he knows. The only thing I would say is, go exactly where you want to go. I think a lot of people were giving him s— early on, because if he would have waited a little bit more, he would have gotten a little more money from the Angels.

He said he doesn’t care about the money, he just wants to make history. He’s been doing just that. So I would tell him: Do what you want to do, brother.

BRENT ROOKER, Oakland Athletics:

I think we’ve got a really good core group of young guys coming up who are going to develop over the next few years and make us competitive sooner rather than later. I think the addition of a talent like that would obviously make any team take a huge step forward, including ours.

I would think he doesn’t end up in Oakland, but we’ll see where he goes. Anything is possible.

DAVID BEDNAR, Pittsburgh Pirates (laughing at the absurdity of it all):

We put French fries on everything. I think that’s the only selling point.