Shohei Ohtani could garner offers of up to $1,000,000,000, ESPN analysis shows

Shohei Ohtani is, without a doubt, the best player in baseball right now. In addition to being a potent starter for his team, the Japanese stud also leads the entire league in triples, home runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases.

As if that weren't enough, Shohei Ohtani has already become the first player ever to record at least 30 home runs while simaltenously striking out 150 or more batters on the mound. To say that he is special would be an understatement.

Far more nuanced than Ohtani's raw talent is his relationship with his team, the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani has been with the team ever since making the jump to North America in 2017. However, he is highly unlikely to re-sign with the team when his one-year, $30 million contract expires at the end of the season.

Fans have pointed to penny-pinching by the Angels, as well as a desire by the 29-year old to go to a winning team. The Los Angeles Angels have not made the postseason since 2014, and have not won a playoff game since 2009.

Recently, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN did a little number-crunching to come up with a sum that fans can expect to see dished out to Shohei Ohtani in free agency. According to Doolittle, fans can expect offers in the realm of one billion dollars.

"How much ESPN thinks Shohei Ohtani’s contract this off-season should be worth" - Addison

Doolittle highlighted the fact that Ohtani leads the league in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) by a country mile to backup his numerical assertion. WAR aims to quantify the number of wins that a player is directly responsible for. Ohtani's 9.3 number is by far the highest in the MLB, significantly higher than second-place Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, who owns a 6.1 WAR.

In the run-up to the trade deadline, many thought that the Angels might explore trading Ohtani. However, GM Perry Minasian went the other way, acquiring big names like ace Lucas Giolito from the Chicago White Sox, among other moves. According to Doolittle, Ohtani's future deal can be summed up simply:

Over a 10-year contract, assuming flat production, that's $760 million. Over 12 years, it's nearly a billion dollars.

Shohei Ohtani still has some work to do with the Angels

While it would be impossible not to get excited for anyone in Shohei Ohtani's position, he is a pro baseball player. As such, staying focused on the welfare of his current team should be the top priority.

Things, however, do not look good. The team's 60-62 record puts them 12.5 games out of the top spot in their division and seven games back of the Toronto Blue Jays, who hold the third and final AL Wild Card spot.