Interesting. That would seemingly eliminate Seattle, as well.
Where did you read that? I’ve been pouring over Baseball sites and never saw that tidbit.
MLBTR I believe reporting on Japanese media.
The smart move for Ohtani would be signing in Minnesota instead of being thrown into the cauldron of New York. He’s an intriguing player but he’s not going to be an overpowering pitcher in MLB. I’m not convinced that he’ll even be as good as Darvish or Tanaka.
Poor guy.
He’ll have to deal with massive expectations not only to win it all NOW, but with ludicrous dynasty forecasts, while coping with second-year rookie fall-off and the N.Y. media microscope.
Meantime, Girardi will be experiencing blessed peace. 
Reported for inaccurate thread title. The stove is still cold.
Jk btw.
Ohtani presented a bombshell and eliminated the eastern teams from consideration. 7 teams left apparently. The Mariners, Padres, Angels, Dodgers, Giants, Rangers and Cubs
Good luck where ever, happy it won’t be a rival at least.
Plan B for the Yanks: CC Sabathia I believe will be the easiest fit with the least questions. THe Yanks know he’s aging and will miss some time but they also know he can pitch in NY and will be affordable. Last year CC went 14-5, 27 starts, 3.69 ERA.
I still expect the Yanks to trade a veteran outfielder. Ellsbury the hardest to trade but the priority. Failing that, Gardner or Hicks will probably be moved.
**The other big story, Stanton.
**Frameworks for deals to the Giants & Cards are in place. Miami is waiting to hear back from Stanton and his agents if either deal is acceptable.
No way Hicks gets moved. He’s not a free agent until 2020 and Cashman has already said he expects him to be the starting centerfielder. My preference would be to eat as much of Ellsbury’s contract as it takes to ship him out. On the other hand, I’m not even sure that Frazier is MLB ready, and if not, having Ellsbury as a fourth outfielder/pinch runner would be acceptable.
As for Ohtani, I hope he goes to San Diego. They deserve another go round after being spurned by Hideki Irabu.
Miles Mikolas to sign multiyear deal with the Cards according to MLBTR.
Angels sign former Brave prospect Kevin Maitan. I hope this doesn’t mean they can’t sign Ohtani too.
Angels and M’s add another million in international bonus money in trades with the Twins.
If the Angels got Ohtani, what would they do with Pujols?
Hicks will be 28 next year. He played very well last year, but given his health history and that it may have been a peak value year, I would think Cashman would at least listen to an offer.
I don’t know who’s angling to get him, though.
Maybe platoon him at first with Cron? Apparently, he is working his ass off on his conditioning to take pressure off his Achilles. I wish him all the luck in the world.
But if his metrics don’t improve in a hurry I would consider releasing him. Why? They have to pay him anyway and why pay him to drag the team down?
Four more years and $114 million. Ouch.
In Japan, Ohtani was in a six man rotation and he wouldn’t DH in games before and after his starts, so I suppose Pujols could be a part time DH. I can’t see him playing first anymore, but maybe we’ll all be surprised.
Josh Hamilton is a recent precedent with the Angels. Billy Eppler seems to be far too intelligent to allow any more of these crazy contracts. I, at least, haven’t heard any rumors of the Angels being interested in Stanton.
Pujols hitting has declined rapidly and he is so slow that he hurts to team when he gets on base.
Noted steroid user Rafael Palmeiro is looking at making a MLB comeback.
Don’t see any team treating this seriously. Makes me wonder if he moved on to some more recreational drug post steroids.
Dan Duquette might be dumber than I thought, and I thought he was pretty dumb.
I am utterly astonished that Duquette thinks this. Hitting is not like tying your shoes. I don’t care who you are, if you haven’t hit MLB pitching in 12 years, you don’t just step in the batter’s box and not miss a beat.