On MLB Network’s “Hot Stove” show, analysts Lauren Shehadi, Harold Reynolds, and Matt Vasgersian made their “bold predictions” for this offseason. Shehadi predicted Trea Turner will sign with the Phillies, while Reynolds said Aaron Judge will sign during the Winter Meetings in San Diego in December.
Vasgersian’s prediction was about the Angels, a topic he’s pretty darn familiar with as a play-by-play announcer for the team.
Just hours after this episode, Angels GM Perry Minasian said unequivocally that Shohei Ohtani won’t be traded this offseason. Vasgersian was a step and a half ahead of him, though, predicting that the 2021 AL MVP will sign a record extension to stay with the Angels.
“Here’s my hot take, and it’s not really a hot take: After the sale of the Angels is complete — and I have no institutional knowledge of this — they’re gonna break off Shohei Ohtani and they’re gonna make him the largest AAV deal in the history of the sport. Right now, the record is Max Scherzer, who makes a paltry $43+ million per year.
“I don’t know how many years it’s gonna be for Shohei — it might be three, it might be five, it might be more — but I think, per year, he will make the highest salary in the history of the sport, as he should, because his impact on both sides of the scorecard is immeasurable and he deserves to be the highest-paid player.”
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It’s hard to really predict what the next owner of the Angels will do when we don’t even know who it will be, but Ohtani’s value to the Angels can’t really be overstated, so Vasgersian’s prediction makes a lot of sense.
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