How Braves Could Sign Ohtani in 2024
You can never have enough pitching. If they want to move Ozuna, this offseason would be the time. Ozuna is under team control for the next two years at $16 million a pop. He has a 2025 club option, which gives the team an out if he falls off the map again next season. However, $16MM/year is a pretty good deal for the numbers he put up this year.
Ozuna has been a streaky player with some pretty high highs and really low lows. I think anyone would be happy to swap Ozuna out for yet another MVP candidate. If Ohtani signs a short-term deal, two years would allow him to prove he can still pitch in the final year.
If the Braves give Ozuna away it would give them some budget space. But how much are they willing to spend for a year or two? Let's be real, Ohtani is going to run around $40MM+ per year, and that's just for the bat. That might be too much.
One other thing the Braves have going for them is that they are the best team in baseball. Ohtani is tired of losing. He wants to play for a winner. Enough is enough and it's time for a change! No more nugget teams like the Angels!
"It sucks to lose. He wants to win, so it gets stronger every year."
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2023
Shohei Ohtani, through his translator, on how important being on a winning team is to him: pic.twitter.com/tc47rqKjnu
So, maybe the Braves could sign Ohtani and let him prove himself. It seems like a long shot to me but the Ohtani watch should be very interesting this offseason.