The Pirates are not among the finalists to sign Japanese pitcher Shohei Ohtani, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Sunday night.
Ohtani, a 23-year-old phenom who is seeking a chance to both hit and pitch in Major League Baseball, has reportedly chosen a list of finalists that includes the Mariners, Padres, Giants, Dodgers, Rangers and Cubs.
pirates are out on ohtani. field remains west coast heavy, though there may be an exception or 2.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 4, 2017
Neal Huntington told 93.7 The Fan last week that the Pirates would do "everything in our power" to land Ohtani. However, that statement was echoed by each general manger across the league because of the relatively affordable price to sign the once-in-a-generation talent.
Whoever lands Ohtani will be required to pay a $20 million fee to his team in Japan, the Nippon Ham Fighters.
But teams are limited in the signing bonus they can offer by the amount of money they have available in the international bonus pool. The Rangers ($3.53 million) and Yankees ($3.5 million) have the most to offer, although Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters Sunday that he'd been informed Ohtani preferred to play for a small-market team on the west coast. The Twins also have over $3 million, followed by the Pirates ($2.66 million), Marlins ($1.74 million) and Mariners ($1.57 million).
Aside from the bonus money, Ohtani would then sign a standard minor-league contract and would make the major-league minimum as a rookie, then be subject to standard raises before arbitration and eligible for free agency after six seasons of service time. He’ll be required to make his decision by Dec. 22.
Ohtani's representatives sent a memo to all 30 teams requesting a written presentation as to why he should choose their team. Huntington voiced confidence that the Pirates had as good a chance as any team, but it appears it was not enough.
Ohtani, a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher and left-handed hitter, throws a 100-mph fastball to complement a splitter and slider. Although he made just five starts in 2017 because of an ankle injury that required surgery after the season, in 2016 he went 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 140 innings. Over the past two seasons, the left-handed hitter batted .324 with 30 home runs in 525 at-bats.
With Ohtani set to sign elsewhere, the Pirates will be among the teams to watch at the Winter Meetings. Teams who are unable to acquire either Ohtani or Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will make a push to trade for Andrew McCutchen. The same goes for any starting pitchers on the free agent market.
Those who are not among the finalists for Ohtani will start to make an aggressive push to sign free agent starting pitchers, including Jake Arrieta. If the prices become too high, the Pirates will receive inquiries about Gerrit Cole.
Huntington was non-committal when 93.7 The Fan asked about the likelihood of both McCutchen and Cole being on the roster in 2018.
“We fully recognize that our best 2018 offensive club has Andrew McCutchen in that lineup and Gerrit Cole in our rotation, but again, as I just said before, we will have to make some hard decisions as an organization as we go forward," he said. "We’ve had to make some in the past, so for me to make a blanket yes-or-no statement doesn’t make a ton of sense, but we do recognize that sitting here today, our best club has those two players on it, but what about the best club in ’19, ’20, ’21 and beyond? So, those are hard questions to answer.”