As the baseball world turns its attention to the grand stage of the World Series, the excitement is not limited to the fierce battles on the field. For the Texas Rangers, there’s more than just a championship at stake. With every pitch, hit, and slide, a question looms large: If the Texas Rangers win the World Series, could it significantly bolster their chances of landing the coveted Shohei Ohtani, as his monumental $500 million free agency draws near?
As the teams are lining up for the Japanese Superstar, could the Lone Stars come out as surprise suitors? After all, the record speaks for itself. Texas Rangers love to make big signings and the two-way phenom is certainly expected to be the biggest of them all.
Texas Rangers’ interest in Shohei Ohtani
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It is a widely known fact that Rangers tried aggressively to get Ohtani earlier this year. The Lone Stars’ interest in Ohtani is understandable. The 29-year-old is going through a peak that is not stopping anytime soon. The 2021 AL MVP had a tremendous 2023 with experts declaring him as the potential MVP for 2023.
The Rangers already have a payroll of $251 million. Their highest-paid player, Corey Seager, gets over $35 million every year. So money is not really a problem in this case. Neither is the will a problem as the team from the Southern State loves to spend money. Especially now that they have reached the World Series and have tasted success, they would want to keep the trend going.
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Apart from this, the Texas Rangers do not really have as much of a problem with luxury taxation as, say, the New York Mets or LA Dodgers have. While the Mets had to pay $111 million dollars of tax, the Dodgers had to pay $32.4 million in taxes in 2022. Rangers, on the other hand, were below their taxation threshold in 2023. One of the Jerry Maguire’s famous quotes is, “Show me the money!” and the Rangers might just show $500 million.
Other suitors for Shohei Ohtani
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The saga of Shohei has been going on since the end of the regular season. The LA Angels were trying desperately to get him back into the fold but it seemed he was out of their reach. Now the story is getting interesting as the off-season is nearing. Although the common questions surrounding the Ohtani debate is which team is after him? However, the question should be which team isn’t? From the LA Dodgers and the New York Mets to the Chicago Cubs to the Boston Red Sox, every team is pitching hard for Ohtani to join them. Now with Rangers’ speculated entry into the mix, the story can become more interesting.
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