Shohei Otani (despite mounting pressure, I’m going to refrain from using the “h” in his surname until I die on this hill) is a 23-year-old with potential to be a top-of-the-rotation starter and an everyday corner outfielder at the same time, and he’s only going to command a max bonus of $3.5 million on top of a rookie salary. He is, at least in terms of potential, the perfect baseball player. Young, cheap, talented.
There’s only one problem: He’s too talented to be so cheap.
I had laid this out a couple months ago when we first learned just how limited Otani’s bonus would be, but there’s a reality dawning on baseball execs that courting the two-way star will put a target on their backs.