Shohei Ohtani’s status for Giants ‘unknown’ as other teams opt out – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

The MLB Annual Winter Meetings are quickly approaching, and things are heating up.

Since baseball fans will be glued to their phones all weekend waiting for an update on two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan He shared some new details about who will remain in the Ohtani sweepstakes.

While some potential suitors have withdrawn from the bidding and others remain adamant about signing the Japanese star, the Giants’ pursuit of Ohtani is unclear.

“It would be foolish to rule out any high-revenue team, although Ohtani’s field of services has now been sifted out,” sources said on Friday morning. “The Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, who were among the first group of suitors, have turned their attention to other players,” the sources said. “Among those who sources confirmed are still in the bidding are: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays.” And angels.

“The San Francisco Giants have long been fond of Ohtani, despite not knowing where they stand in these sweepstakes.”

Unknown doesn’t necessarily mean out, of course. It’s possible the Giants are reneging on respecting Ohtani’s stated desire to keep free agent meetings private. Basan reported last month that if any meetings with the teams were leaked, Ohtani would hold the matter against the organization.

But what’s not a secret is San Francisco’s interest in Ohtani.

The Giants haven’t been shy about preparing to go “all in” with the former Los Angeles Angels star. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that the Giants are “devoting their hearts and all of their money” to landing Ohtani or another free agent, starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Ohtani was unanimously named the American League Most Valuable Player after a dominant 2023 two-way season. It is the second time in three seasons that he has won the AL consensus MVP award, making him the first two-time unanimous AL MVP in MLB history.

The 29-year-old reportedly could sign soon, possibly at or before the MLB Winter Meetings Dec. 4-7 in Nashville.

The Dodgers have long been considered the favorite to sign Ohtani, but as of now, it’s anyone’s game.

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