New York Yankees' pitch to Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani

Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has requested every MLB team makes their best pitch to sign him … in writing. Here’s the pitch for the New York Yankees.

As reported by Matt Kelly of MLB.com and The Associated Press, Japanese star Shohei Ohtani has flipped the script on major league ballclubs vying for his services. Ohtani has requested from all 30 major league teams that they write an explanation stating why he would be a good fit for their team. With the skills that Ohtani possesses, that shouldn’t be a hard task at all. However, very few teams actually present the wide range of key aspects that Ohtani may be looking for and one of those teams is the New York Yankees.

Yankees special advisor to Brian Cashman and 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui has already made several statements in reference to Ohtani as a player. Matsui has also said that he’ll be involved in trying to convince the star to consider the Yankees as his next ballclub. Certainly, other teams may present good cases but following a season where the Yankees fell just one game short of the World Series, there’s plenty of ammunition to fire at Ohtani.

The plethora of MLB-ready talent in the farm system and All-Stars Didi Gregorius, Starlin Castro, Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, and Aaron Judge provide the youth and talent that Ohtani can excel with. He can achieve postseason success and consistently give the Yankees a World Series-caliber club year in and year out. Aside from the rich history, Hall of Famers, and World Series championships, the number one thing the Yankees can bank on is money. Besides the Los Angeles Dodgers, no other team can compete with the Yankees in marketing their star players.

New York is the mecca of the world. If Ohtani wants to win, then there’s no better place to do it than with the Yankees. Just ask Matsui. Matsui, along with Masahiro Tanaka, can be the bridge that closes the gap between the Yankees and Ohtani in making it known how crucial and valuable of a piece he can be to the championship puzzle.

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The Texas Rangers and New York Yankees are the two teams that can offer Ohtani the most international bonus money, both at about $3.5 million. The next closest teams are the Twins ($3.1 million) and Pirates ($2.3 million). Obviously, the amount of money Ohtani will make initially is nowhere near what he could command had he decided to wait to come to the majors two years from now. However, the money he could make off the field as a winner in New York City would soften the blow until it’s time to sign a bigger deal once he becomes a major league free agent.

Another advantage the Yankees present besides their young core and their inevitable pursuit of World Series titles is that they play in the American League. Ohtani could pitch every five days and bat as the designated hitter whenever he isn’t scheduled to be on the mound.

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One of the main reasons Ohtani decided to come to the states was to play against the best talent in the world. Well, playing in the American League East and playing for the New York Yankees pretty much fits the bill. Now it’s on Shohei Ohtani to make his decision.

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The New York Yankees’ pitch to Shohei Ohtani

By Roland Hope IV | Nov 27, 2017

Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has requested every MLB team makes their best pitch to sign him … in writing. Here’s the pitch for the New York Yankees.

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