If Shohei Ohtani signed a one year, 2024 deal with the Cleveland Guardians, the Guardians would instantly have one of the most intriguing middle of the order line-ups with Jose Ramirez, Shohei Ohtani, Josh Naylor, in all of baseball.
However, Bo Naylor delivered a plus .800 OPS as a rookie, and two more rookie prospects, Kyle Manzardo and Chase Delauter combine with Gold Glove winning Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez to give the Guardians an offense that should improve by at least 1/2 to 3/4's of run a game, while their starting pitching could prove the deepest in all of baseball, instantly making the Guardians a 2024 World Series contender.
What better way to elevate Shohei Ohtani's value for the 2025 season than by being the catalyst that lifts the Guardians to a World Series appearance in 2024 after a down 2023 Guardians year.
Surely the Guardians, with a painfully low payroll, could afford a one year, 40 to 45 million dollar offer to Ohtani. The Guardians visibility and attendance would dramatically rise in 2024 and along with their low payroll to begin with, should enable the Guardians to handle a one year deal with Ohtani. Heck, the Guardians previously signed Josh Bell to a 32 million deal covering 2 years. I'm sure Ohtani at 40 to 45 million and then a young outfield prospect the following year at 750,000 is not that outrageous of a commitment to make.
I find it disappointing that all we hear about are the perennial high payroll teams going after Ohtani when it is a small market team like the Guardians who could afford a one year deal which in turn resets Ohtani's market value for a long term deal that would follow after 2024.
Ohtani may not pitch in 2024 and if he does pitch at all, it might be down the final stretch of the season as a set-up man, which would be quite a high profile accomplishment were he to pitch as a set-up man during the 2024 playoffs. The Guardians have all the pieces in place for a 2024 World Series run were Ohtani to sign with the Guardians.
Ohtani recognized Jose Ramirez at the 2023 All Star game and spent some time with Jose, so its not as going to the Guardians would finally provide Shohei Ohtani a playoff run while resetting his value for the 2025 season.
Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.
