New York Yankees: Why Shohei Ohtani WILL be in pinstripes

Shohei Ohtani’s long-awaited entrance into Major League Baseball is nearly here. With that, I am here to tell you why he will be playing with the New York Yankees.

Shohei Ohtani could be one of the best baseball players we have seen in a while. Often referred to as ‘The Japanese Babe Ruth’, Ohtani is a two-way player. Not only can he hit home runs into the next time zone, but he can also throw it 100+MPH. We have never seen a player quite like this since, well, the New York Yankees sported Babe Ruth on their roster, hence the nickname for Ohtani.

When you hear he can hit and pitch you would think, “Oh he is going to play in the National League so he can hit on days he’s pitching” right? Well that’s incorrect. Playing for a National League team would cut out half his skill.

If he were to play in the National League he would either have to learn a new position so that he could hit on days he is not pitching, or he would only be able to bat once in a rotation. If he were to play in the American League he would be able to pitch without the distraction of batting, and then on days he is not pitching he could DH.

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So with that it would make a lot of sense for the slugger/flame thrower, to play in the American League rather than the National League. In the American League there are really only three teams that make sense for Ohtani, the Yankees, the Rangers, and the Mariners. Let’s take a look at each of these three teams and determine why they make sense and where he will end up.

The New York Yankees:

The Yankees are a perfect fit for a few reasons. One of those reasons being their lack of depth at starting pitcher. Let’s face it, aside from Luis Severino and streaks from CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees have a rough starting pitching staff. By adding Ohtani you get a pitcher who is capable of being an ace alongside someone who just finished third in AL Cy Young voting in Luis Severino. If the Yankees add Shohei Ohtani they would immediately skyrocket from a team with a struggling starting pitching staff to a team with one of the best starting pitching staffs.

Reason number two, you get a slugger to go alongside Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. The Yankees shuffled around quite a few players at DH this year but none of them seemed to pan out. A DH is a player the opposing pitcher is scared will hit a home run every single time. The Yankees did not have a player like that in 2017, but if they were to add Ohtani in the off-season, they would get that player for 2018.

My final reason as to why the Yankees are a perfect fit for Ohtani is the potential. In 2017 the Yankees ended one game away from the World Series, which truly shows you what they are capable of. Maybe if they have Ohtani last season they don’t blow a 3-2 lead against the Astros and they get into the World Series. Or maybe not, but either way of the four teams I mentioned the Yankees are by far the closest to hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy.

The Texas Rangers:

Without Yu Darvish and a real power hitter the Rangers could truly make it all about Ohtani. The Japanese Babe Ruth could both be their ace and their power hitter which makes Texas very desirable. However, that is really the only thing that would make Texas attractive. The only other thing that makes Texas desirable is the fact that they have been home to a player coming from Japan before. For nearly six seasons before they traded him to the Dodgers, Texas was home to Yu Darvish, who like Ohtani was a highly desired Japanese player. This really isn’t a make or break though because many other teams including the Yankees have done it before.

Seattle Mariners:

With Felix Hernandez’ contract coming to an end they could really use someone like Ohtani. Seattle is a popular destination for international players and it is a very real possibility for Ohtani. While they may be in somewhat of a rebuilding stage the Mariners could significantly improve with the addition of Shohei Ohtani.

Next: Five left handed relievers for the Yankees to target in free agency

Based on these you can  tell that it makes the most sense for Shohei Ohtani to sign with the New York Yankees. The Yankees are also using Japanese great Hideki Matsui to help recruit Ohtani which should help greatly. As part of his recruitment Ohtani is asking each of the 30 teams to send him their resumes to help him make his decision. The Yankees obviously have one of the best if not the best resumes in baseball which should help greatly.

Ohtani is expected to sign with whichever team he decides before Christmas. With all this being said, expect Shohei Ohtani to sign with the Yankees before Christmas.