The Giants matched Shohei Ohtani’s price tag

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It wasn’t for lack of effort that they didn’t get the big star.

Shohei Ohtani has dominated the baseball airwaves since the start of the season. For weeks we wondered where he would sign, and what the process would look like. We were then treated to many (mostly false) reports that things were heating up. Mystery and speculation is the biggest story in baseball.



When Ohtani chose the Los Angeles Dodgersbreaking the hearts of San Francisco Giants fans in the process, his decision became the biggest story in baseball.

Then reports of his new contract – the largest in sports history – were made public. And then that became the biggest story in baseball.

Soon, Ohtani will no longer be the biggest story in baseball (until the regular season, that is), as the rest of the remaining free agents — and possibly some potential candidates — look for new house. That process began in earnest for the Giants on Tuesday, when they signed Jung-hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million contract.

But we took a break from building this season’s roster to return to the man who is far from being the biggest story in baseball: Ohtani.

Shortly after Lee’s speech, President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi jumped into a press conference, speaking to the media for the first time since the Winter Meetings, but the words all of which he spoke were variations of “sorrow, sworn to secrecy, unable to speak.”

Since Lee’s deal was not official (words that send shivers down the spine of every Giants fan), Zaidi was unable to comment on the no-nonsense agent. a salary he signed since he assumed the job. Although that didn’t stop him from making a funny (and good-looking) move to NY Post reporter Jon Heyman, the author of the famous “Arson Judge looks to be headed to the Giants” tweet.

11/10, no changes, Farhan.

Although Zaidi couldn’t talk about Lee, he did eventually reveal information about the team’s pursuit of Ohtani. I was really hoping we’d learn what contract the Giants offered the two-way leadoff hitter, partly out of curiosity and partly out of curiosity. half to get some information about how hard they push for free stars.

And what we learned is the truth: it’s less that the Giants offered Ohtani a contract, and more that Ohtani gave a contract to all of his players before deciding where he wanted to play. eat

Zaidi said that when the Giants first met with Ohtani, they opened up with a big surprise.

But as the process continued, Ohtani took the same contract he signed with the Dodgers: 10 years, $700 million, with $680 million of that in deferred wages, expected to limit the salary and the Competitive Balance Tax hit for the team, so. that they may build more around him.

The Giants, to their credit, were ready and willing to accommodate Ohtani’s demands — the same demands that are currently in his contract. But the superstar, as has been predicted for months, if not years, seems clearly happy.

And if you’re wondering if the front office members are attracted to Twitter reports as fans… well… yes.

If you want more information from Ohtani’s pursuit, Zaidi revealed that the only people from the organization who have met with Shohei are Zaidi, Bob Melvin, Buster Posey, and Greg Johnson. And Zaidi told reporters it went well, and they had confidence at times, but ultimately felt Ohtani wanted to stay in LA.

The news that San Francisco is meeting Ohtani’s contract demands is causing either hope or uncertainty, depending on where you live. On the one hand, there is a feeling among the fans that the manager does not want to pay for the stars; The fact that the Giants met the final contracts for Ohtani and Judge is very solid against the evidence. On the other hand, the Giants faced these costs and kept spending on the services of those players. Signing Lee helps, but they still have a ways to go to prove to fans that they can convince A-list stars to sign with them.

All in all, it’s good to know the Giants didn’t miss out on the best player in the world because they weren’t willing to pay the price. Not that we’ll get any comfort from that when we first see Ohtani in Dodger blue.

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