The great Shohei Ohtani continues to be a man of mystery with agent Nez Balelo said to be “off site” for the GM meetings and no teams admitting to meetings. But the consensus is the Dodgers remain the favorite because they cleared payroll space, they’re consistent winners and may hold a geographic advantage. Word is Ohtani loves Southern California.
The incumbent Angels are interested, as are the Padres.
Padres GM A.J. Preller has little interest in trading Juan Soto and will look into a long-term contract (although that’s a long shot). While Soto isn’t likely to be traded now, that could change if the Padres sign Ohtani.
The Yankees, Mets and other big-market teams will check on Ohtani, but some believe he’s reluctant to live in New York (or he was six years ago anyway). …
Cody Bellinger should be at the center of a big-market battle between the incumbent Cubs (who he liked very much) and the Yankees, who need at least one outfielder and maybe two. Korean import Jung-Hoo Lee and Kevin Kiermaier fit the Yankees, too. …
Matt Chapman met with the incumbent Jays at the meetings. The surprise Diamondbacks and Giants are among other teams eyeing third base. The Jays offered well over $100M in the spring but the sides weren’t close. Chapman is probably shooting for $150M plus.
The Mets appear ready to give Brett Baty or Ronnie Mauricio a chance to win the third base job and don’t seem involved for Chapman.
Jeimer Candelario has interest from the Diamondbacks, Reds and Angels. …
The Astros may try to lock up Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, who are a year from free agency. The belief is they’ll have a somewhat better chance with Altuve. …
There’s still no evidence the Mets will make a big move to lock up Pete Alonso now, but there’s no belief they intend to trade him, either. …
Trevor Bauer, who was 9-2 with a 1.97 ERA over his final 15 starts for the Yokohama BayStars, hit 99.3 mph on the gun and developed a splitter, hopes to return to MLB.