Shohei Ohtani will not be signing with the New York Yankees.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman said on Sunday that Ohtani will not be signing with the team. Ohtani’s representatives were expected to notify teams if they have made the first cut to present to him in person this week, and it sounds like the Yankees did not make the list.
Shohei Ohtani’s representatives told the Yankees that they will not be among the teams invited to make an in-person presentation. Brian Cashman said the news was “disappointing.”
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) December 3, 2017
Interestingly, Cashman says he does not think Ohtani ever was considering the Yankees.
Cashman said he gets feeling Ohtani never was really considering the #Yankees, added that his presentation was impeccable
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) December 3, 2017
Cashman did give some hints about where the Japanese phenom may be heading by saying something about West Coast and small market teams.
Cashman said he was told he can’t make the #Yankees a smaller market or on the West Coast. Sooo, take those as hints.
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) December 3, 2017
Re: Ohtani… Cashman said that if he was a West Coast team in a smaller market, he’d be excited right now.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) December 3, 2017
The Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers could be possibilities for Ohtani. Even the San Diego Padres, who long have scouted and established a relationship with him, could be in play. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan says the San Francisco Giants and Mariners made the cut.
Sources: Shohei Ohtani continues to narrow the field for his meetings next week. The New York Yankees are out. The San Francisco Giants are one of the finalists. The Seattle Mariners also are in.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 3, 2017
What’s interesting is the Yankees were viewed as the favorites to land Ohtani, but that may have just been speculation from other teams rather than solid information from the player or his reps.
