Shohei Ohtani to Rangers? Texas Among Early Favorites to Land Angels Superstar

(Photo : Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - Shohei Ohtani (#17) of the Los Angeles Angels holds the 2023 Los Angeles Angels Most Valuable Player trophy before a game against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Now that the Texas Rangers have won the 2023 World Series, the attention is expected to shift to MLB free agency. And no bigger name will be in the spotlight other than Shohei Ohtani.

The 2021 AL MVP's next stop headlines an exciting offseason. Ironically, the Rangers' World Series conquest could play a part in luring Ohtani to Texas. But together with that comes the financial aspect.

But after the taste of winning, the Rangers are reportedly willing to spend. And if this holds, the Rangers could make a serious go at Ohtani, someone they were allegedly ready to push for at midseason, the New York Post claimed.

Backing that up is the fact that the Rangers have been active in free agency in the past seasons, MLB.com pointed out. Before the 2022 season, they signed Cory Seager and Marcus Siemen.

Aside from these two names, they also added Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi last winter. With these names and finding the success formula, it will be interesting if the Rangers will gamble on adding the Japanese baseball sensation.

Texas Rangers in precarious scenario

With about $200 million in payroll already committed to 2024, getting a Shohei Ohtani deal done will be interesting. The Rangers have $60 million coming off the books and another $56 million next season.

The Rangers could hold off on Ohtani since they recently won the 2023 World Series. But then again, passing up the chance would be foolish - especially considering Ohtani mentioned the Rangers as a potential preferred landing spot, SI.com reported.

Assuming the Rangers can pull strings, seeing Ohtani move to the Angels' division rival would be disheartening. The best Los Angeles can do right now is to retain the three-time All-Star through monetary means and possibly add more players to make the Halos competitive.

Aside from the Rangers, other teams that Ohtani reportedly prefers include the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.

Ohtani is expected to seek one of the biggest contracts in baseball history, roughly worth around $500 million. The man tasked to negotiate that is no other than Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, USA Today reported.