Amid expectations that the San Francisco Giants will invest heavily in the FA market, Shohei Ohtani, as well as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Lee Jung-hoo from Asia are known to be at the top of the wish list.
Among the news about Ohtani, which came out at the Major League general manager's meeting, which ended in Scottsdale, Arizona on the 10th (Korea Standard Time), the overwhelming content is that not only the LA Dodgers but also San Francisco are ready to "all in" to recruit Ohtani.
San Francisco Chronicles, a leading media outlet in the San Francisco area, said in an article titled "Giantz is preparing to make all-out efforts on the FA Shohei Ohtani," and delivered Zaidi's answer, saying, "San Francisco President Blue Zaidi was directly asked whether he would sign Ohtani in an interview that lasted about an hour last Thursday."
President Zaidi said, "Anyone who came here answered that question? The principle that no comment should be made on FA-related questions has been renewed. Last year, that was not the case, so things went really wrong," he said.
President Zaidi saves comments on FA because of his painful memories last year. San Francisco was on the verge of signing Aaron Judge, the biggest FA player, a year ago. This is because Judge, whose hometown is near San Francisco and was a fan of Barry Bonds as a child, offered difficult conditions to reject. It was worth 360 million dollars in nine years.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, who won the Roberto Clemente Award this year. AP Yonhap News Agency
Judge then contacted New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner on the spot to inform him of this and "renegotiating through cell phones" to bring about the same conditions. In the end, Judge joined hands with his original team, the Yankees.
San Francisco immediately reached a negotiating table with FA shortstop Carlos Correa and agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract. However, ahead of the joining press conference, he tried to renegotiate it after a medical test diagnosed him with a high possibility of recurrence of leg and knee injuries injured during the Houston Astros minor league, but it also happened as the New York Mets intervened. Correa broke his contract with the Mets for the same reason and remained on a six-year, $200 million cut with the original Minnesota Twins.
For President Zaidi, it was impossible to bring up Ohtani directly without healing the wounds he missed after getting his hands on the two big FA. In other words, he is devoted to recruiting Ohtani.
Blue Zaidi President speaks with new coach Bob Melvin.
In fact, many officials who attended the general meeting are mentioning San Francisco as a leading candidate for Ohtani. An agent told the San Francisco Chronicles, "The Giants look very good on Ohtani," adding, "The Rangers have established a strong team, the Dodgers are clearly at the center of the subject, and the Yankees are a team that always works, so you have to keep an eye on it. Ohtani will go where he wants to go, he said.
Another agent said, "The Dodgers are the most likely, but it depends on what you want. The Mets are a possibility, and Art Moreno (Angels owner) won't be just watching. He has a lot of history of investing a lot of money in big-name FA, he said. "I think Giants are preparing a lot of things for him." Geographic location is very important." This means that Ohtani has a good interest in the west coast, which is relatively close to Japan. 스포츠토토사이트
Lee Jung-hoo's contract size is widely expected to be at least $50 million.
In addition, San Francisco has put considerable effort into Yamamoto, who is considered the best starter in Japanese history. MLB.com said on the 12th, "President Zaidi flew to Japan with his aides and watched Yamamoto's pitching in person. "Orix Buffaloes will announce the posting of Yamamoto soon," he predicted.
Regarding Lee Jung-hoo, he added, "San Francisco has been very active in observing South Korean outfielder Lee Jung-hoo. It's because I'm looking for a center fielder,'
For San Francisco, right fielder Michael Confoto chose the $18 million player option next year. Left fielder Mitch Hanniger is in his second two-year, $28 million season. Next year's salary will be 20 million dollars. However, the center fielder does not have a main player yet. Lewis Matos, Mike Yastremski and Tyler Fitzgerald are among the candidates. There is a desperate need for a heavy center fielder, and Lee Jung-hoo is said to be perfect.
Yamamoto's ransom is more than $200 million, and Lee Jung-hoo is expected to be more than $50 million. In other words, it requires at least $750 million in funds to recruit Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Lee Jung-hoo. Will San Francisco be able to hold all the "Big Three" from Asia as planned.