Greatness Among Us!

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

here's another aspect nobody seems to be talking about. How much does this cost Ohtani in Free Agency? Does it increases his odds of staying with the Angels? Will other teams try and talk him out of pitching?

I think the recovery time before being able to pitch again after a second Tommy John surgery is longer than after the first one so the earliest he would be ready to pitch would be 2025. I would think he could hit before then but would probably miss at least the start of 2024 and then just be a DH for whatever part of the season he did play. It will definitely be interesting to see how much teams are willing to guarantee with so much uncertainty about when and what he will be able to contribute. If he doesn't pitch, it would seem like he could still end up with contract offers around what Aaron Judge got from the Yankees or given the uncertainty, does he have to take a short term deal then become a free agent again once he shows what he can still do?

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I think the recovery time before being able to pitch again after a second Tommy John surgery is longer than after the first one so the earliest he would be ready to pitch would be 2025. I would think he could hit before then but would probably miss at least the start of 2024 and then just be a DH for whatever part of the season he did play. It will definitely be interesting to see how much teams are willing to guarantee with so much uncertainty about when and what he will be able to contribute. If he doesn't pitch, it would seem like he could still end up with contract offers around what Aaron Judge got from the Yankees or given the uncertainty, does he have to take a short term deal then become a free agent again once he shows what he can still do?

He is hitting tonight as a DH. Is it likely he is going to miss time as a DH?

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

He is hitting tonight as a DH. Is it likely he is going to miss time as a DH?

If he has surgery, there will be a recovery period. Bryce Harper had his Tommy John surgery in late November and returned to play DH in the beginning of May which was a little over 5 months so it's possible if Ohtani has his surgery before this season is over that he's back in time for the start of 2024. However, it's his second time for Tommy John and Harper came back in record time so it's hard to predict how soon it would be for Ohtani to be able to play even as a DH. Assuming everything goes well with his recovery, early in 2024 is a good possibility, but as I said in my earlier post, there's a chance he misses at least some of the start of 2024.

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by jayshum

If he has surgery, there will be a recovery period. Bryce Harper had his Tommy John surgery in late November and returned to play DH in the beginning of May which was a little over 5 months so it's possible if Ohtani has his surgery before this season is over that he's back in time for the start of 2024. However, it's his second time for Tommy John and Harper came back in record time so it's hard to predict how soon it would be for Ohtani to be able to play even as a DH. Assuming everything goes well with his recovery, early in 2024 is a good possibility, but as I said in my earlier post, there's a chance he misses at least some of the start of 2024.

Okay, that makes sense. Hopefully he has the surgery soon and is back for the start of 2024.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

But as a DH only are people going to pony up more than DH value for him on the hope that after year one of the contract they get more out of him? Don't get me wrong he's a great hitter, but as just a DH he's not worth a mega contract, and being unsure if he'll ever be more than that again has to dampen the market

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

But as a DH only are people going to pony up more than DH value for him on the hope that after year one of the contract they get more out of him? Don't get me wrong he's a great hitter, but as just a DH he's not worth a mega contract, and being unsure if he'll ever be more than that again has to dampen the market

You don't think he could get a similar contract to what Judge got if he was just going to DH?

[insidethewrapper]

If he has a 2nd Tommy John surgery his pitching days may be at an end, and he becomes an everyday player, again just like The Babe did . He will still be worth a great deal but he is turning 30 next year. Only a few good years left.

It appears when you spend a lot of $$$ on one player, that team doesn't do well. Yankees this year, Trout year after year , Verlander and Scherzer with the Mets etc.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by jayshum

You don't think he could get a similar contract to what Judge got if he was just going to DH?

No as Judge has a lot of value in the field as well, and was coming off of a season with 62 home runs. Then add the premium Judge realized due to the fact that if the Yankees hadn't signed him the fan base would've showed up with torches and pitchforks.

The Anaheim fans (both of them) will let out a collective yawn when Ohtani signs elsewhere.

Frankly Judge was a terrible signing as he has been injury prone and big guys don't tend to age well either, but the Yankees almost had to do it. The teams interested in Ohtani will learn from that mistake. I'd be surprised if he gets more than 5 years and $200m. The difference between a great DH and a very good DH doesn't justify $30m/year more of a team's payroll.