SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — On the day when Shohei Ohtani could officially begin negotiating with all 30 teams, he moved one step closer to another accomplishment with the Angels.
Ohtani was named a finalist for the American League MVP award on Monday. The other two are Texas Rangers teammates Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.
Voting was completed before the start of the postseason. The winner will be announced next Thursday (Nov. 16).
Ohtani is the heavy favorite to win the award for the second time in three years, but this time the honor will come amid one of the most fascinating free agent stories in years.
The Angels have vowed to try to keep Ohtani, but he is going to be wooed by a handful of other teams willing to pay upwards of $500 million to win the services of the two-way star.
Although Ohtani won’t be able to pitch until 2025 after undergoing elbow surgery, he is expected to be ready as a hitter, coming on the heels of arguably the best offensive season in the majors in 2023.
Ohtani hit .304 with a league-leading 44 home runs and a major league-best OPS of 1.066. He led the AL with a .412 on-base percentage and he led the majors with a .654 slugging percentage.
Ohtani played 135 games before his season was cut short by an oblique injury in September.
His season on the mound had ended because of the injury two weeks earlier, but Ohtani still posted a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings over 23 starts. When Ohtani won the MVP in 2021, he posted a 3.18 ERA in 130⅓ innings.
Seager also missed time with an injury, hitting .327 with 33 homers and a 1.013 OPS in 119 games. Semien played all 162 games, hitting .276 with 29 homers and an .826 OPS.
