MLB Rumors: The New York Yankees are out of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, and the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants are finalists, according to Jeff Passan on Twitter. Multiple reports indicate that Brian Cashman has said that the Yankees have been informed that the Ohtani will not be signing with New York.
This is interesting and kind of surprising — Ohtani was just posted on Friday, and has 19 more days before he has to make a decision, and the Yankees were thought by many to be the favorite to land him. Instead, the Yankees, who have over $3 million in international bonus pool money available to spend, apparently already out.
Buster Olney, meanwhile, says the Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers have been “oft-speculated” to be serious contenders for Ohtani, though, as has been discussed, we are in kind of a black box situation with him. The Rangers have the most money available to spend on Ohtani, and have spent years cultivating a relationship with him, though Cashman has said this evening if he were a West Coast small market team he’d be excited right now, and the Rangers are neither small market nor West Coast.
So we know the Evil Empire is out, and the Rangers appear to still be in. And we will continue to watch developments and read tea leaves and hope against hope that the Rangers will somehow land the Japanese two-way phenom.
UPDATE — Boston has also been informed they are out, per reports, as well as the Twins, who were the one team (along with New York and the Rangers) who had over $3 million available to spend.