How Will the MLB Lockout Affect Shohei Ohtani’s Contract and Free Agency?

The 2-way superstar may have lost some momentum in the media, but Shohei Ohtani is still very much the reigning AL MVP. With a stellar season to look back at in 2021, he will be eager to get started again as 2022 nears. However, with a lockout-shortened season, a rule operation in Major League Baseball comes into play and so does Ohtani’s free agency. Could he be slated to stay in Anaheim a year longer?

Shohei Ohtani is undoubtedly one of the stars of the 2021 season. With the truly first 2 way season since Babe Ruth in 2018, Ohtani enjoyed his run to the unanimous AL MVP in 2021. And with several players around the league testing out free agency, Ohtani could be tempted.

Across the league, there are several lucrative contracts on offer; and Ohtani would surely see a high valuation. However, could an MLB regulation see Ohtani’s reign with the LA Angels extended? Is it possible that Ohtani stays in Anaheim another year because of a freak operation?

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Shohei Ohtani to extend stay with LA Angels by a year?

Major League baseball denotes that a player will be eligible for his first free agency 6 years after his first foray into the league. Considering Ohtani’s debut season to be in 2018, that would put him at 4 years in 2022. But with the league staring down the barrel at another shortened season, there remains some risk as well.

The league’s calculation denotes that a player will only be credited with a full year of service time if they complete certain stipulations. In the case of Major League Baseball,  a player is credited with one year if he is on a big-league roster (or injured list) for 172 of the 186 days of the season.

How does that change things for Ohtani?

Since the League has already canceled the first two series for every team, this means that 7 days have disappeared from the service time regulations too.

While Ohtani stood to be a free agent by 2024 under the regulations, a shortening of the campaign this season would leave him without credit for a complete year on his service time. And with the operation of the regulations as they stand, Ohtani would have to wait for 2025 for free agency.

However, with a new CBA yet to be put in place; this issue may turn on its head before we are really able to grasp it. And while the league stands to be shortened, it is unlikely that either side will be willing to lose as many as 15 days to the negotiations with the progress already being made.

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But what do you think? 2025 is also the year that Juan Soto turns to free agency. Would you rather that the two superstars turned free agents in the same year?