It appears Shohei Ohtani to the Mets was never truly a realistic possibility.
Signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday to the tune of 10 years and $700 million, Ohtani decided to move from the American League to the National League, but stay on the West Coast. And although the Mets were never considered the favorites to land the two-way superstar, it was believed around the league that they at least had an outside shot to get him.
After all, Steve Cohen, the richest owner in MLB, owns the team and has not been shy about spending big money on free agents during his short tenure. Apparently, that did not matter in Ohtani’s case.
“The agent [Nez Balelo of CAA] never reached out to me personally,” Cohen told The Athletic, “and I think that’s pretty telling.”
SNY's Andy Martino reported that "it never got serious between" the club and the free agent and that if there was any indication that Ohtani was open to coming to New York, the Mets would have pursued him aggressively. They never did.
In the end, it was between the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays, and Ohtani chose to stay in the same state where he played six seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Now, with the biggest free agent of the offseason (and the history of the sport) off the books, New York can fully turn its attention to another Japanese star, Yoshinobu Yamamoto – a player the Mets have had tons of contact with and are seen as one of the favorites.