More Shohei Rumors: “The Cubs Are a Player in This Ohtani Thing”

More on the Chicago Cubs’ interest – legitimate! – in pursuing Shohei Ohtani this offseason, but maybe some tempering on expectations that they’ll actually land him.

Four things:

  • Sahadev Sharma writes: “Hoyer had no comment on whether he’d meet with Shohei Ohtani’s representatives this week, but a league source indicated they will be in on a player widely considered to be the biggest prize in this free-agent class. Executives across baseball are fascinated to see how his free agency plays out. The fit for the Cubs is obvious.” So, again, the interest is real. But the most likely outcome, Sharma writes, is that the Cubs are outbid in the end “by a significant margin.”
  • Bruce Levine says, yes, the Cubs are involved in talking with Ohtani in free agency – “why wouldn’t they be?” – but actually landing him is a “long, long-shot.” Levine’s reasoning is not financial, but is instead because he thinks, in the end, Ohtani will want to stay on the West Coast.
  • Radio man Ron Coomer (not necessarily an insider, but obviously he’s close to the organization) says, “I’ve heard that (the Cubs’ interest in pursuing Ohtani) is more than just a rumor. I’ve heard it from some of the baseball people that are in Arizona (at the GM Meetings) …. The Cubs are a player in this Ohtani thing. There’s no doubt.”
  • And lastly, just for fun, Cubs fans saw very long odds on Shohei Ohtani and decided to bet QUICKLY and HEAVILY because the odds moved dramatically:
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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