Shohei Ohtani Met With Dodgers Monday; Padres Only Team Left

It was reported on Monday that the Giants had already met with Shohei Ohtani. It appears that the Dodgers met with the two-way player on Monday as well.

This was revealed in a tweet from Ken Rosenthal.

Ohtani met with #Dodgers in addition to #SFGiants yesterday, sources tell The Athletic. https://t.co/8XmMf8Rusu

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2017

Also from Ken Rosenthal, Ohtani met with three other clubs on Tuesday.

Ohtani’s meetings today: #Cubs (per sources); #Mariners (per @RyanDivish); #Rangers (per @Evan_P_Grant). That would leave #Padres and #Angels, presumably for tomorrow.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 6, 2017

Although he added that the Angels did indeed meet with Ohtani soon after the above tweet was sent.

Update: #Angels met with Ohtani Monday, per @JeffFletcherOCR. So, after tonight, only #Padres will remain. https://t.co/azwYX3omGW

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 6, 2017

That leaves the Padres as the last team yet to meet with the 23-year old. The teams still in on Ohtani are wasting no time, in large part because they only have until December 22nd to sign him. With this deadline right around the corner, they have to act fast in pitching their organization to him. Even with the deadline just over two weeks away, Ohtani could still make his decision before then.

With the list at seven teams, it’s hard to pinpoint who the favorite to sign him is. Jon Heyman seems to think the one team Ohtani has yet to meet with has the best shot.

OK, so many of us in the media were wrong about the Yankees’ chances to sign two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. We have re-evaluated now, and are judging just how wrong we were. We were so wrong that the favorite just may be the team that is the most anti-Yankees.

That, in my estimation, is the San Diego Padres.

The Padres are the team that is farthest from New York, in terms of distance, history, city atmosphere and just about everything else, too

The Padres make sense for a few reasons. For one, they hold spring training in Peoria, Arizona, an area that Ohtani has spent time before and is very comfortable in. The Padres also make sense when you think about Ohtani’s interest in a two-way role. In short, they can try him in an expanded role more easily than other teams since they have less to lose. They’re still a few years away from contention but, with a solid stable of prospects, they’ll get there. Maybe Ohtani could be the piece that pulls it all together.

The Rangers are also very optimistic about their chances, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

Top Rangers officials officially met with pitcher Shohei Ohtani and his representatives on Tuesday in Los Angeles. They are also expressing quiet confidence inside the industry that they have a “good chance” of signing the Japanese pitching/hitting superstar.

Where the multi-talented player will end up is still anyone’s guess, but you have to assume that all seven finalists will continue to make their case until the day he signs. With the deadline for Ohtani to sign quickly approaching, we can expect a decision soon. Where do you think he ends up? Let us know in the comments below!