Yankees’ Juan Soto Wants to Team Up With Dodgers’ Star Shohei Ohtani.
At Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities, New York Yankees star Juan Soto was asked a simple question. Which fellow MLB player that he’s never played with would he he most want to team up with?
His answer? Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
“Ohtani would be one of them,” Soto said. “Now he went to the NL, I went to the AL, so it’s been a little tricky. But definitely Ohtani would be one of them.”
Juan Soto revealed that out of all MLB players he’d most want to team up with, Shohei Ohtani is right near the top.
What would you give up to see this duo team up on the Dodgers? ?
?: @snyyankees pic.twitter.com/Y4GEnu2JJB
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) July 15, 2024
Ohtani is likely a popular answer for this question as one of the greatest and most unique players in baseball history. Ohtani is the most successful two-way player ever, and this year, is having an unbelievable offensive season as just a hitter.
Through 94 games, Ohtani is slashing .316/.400/.635 with 29 home runs, 69 runs batted in, and an OPS of 1.035. He leads the NL in slugging percentage, OPS, runs scored (75), total bases (235), and, despite not playing any defense, fWAR (5.2).
Shohei Ohtani’s stats (and NL rank) after the first half of his first Dodgers season:
.316 AVG (2nd)
.400 OBP (4th)
.635 SLG (1st)
29 HR (1st)
69 RBI (3rd)
23 2B (T-7th)
4 3B (T-5th)
51 BB (4th)
23 SB (T-3rd)
75 R (1st)
235 TB (1st)
1.035 OPS (1st)
He’s the NL MVP front runner. pic.twitter.com/6dcVK8mIZf
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) July 14, 2024
On top of all that, Ohtani has a great personality and is one of the nicest players in the game. So why wouldn’t someone want to play with him?
Soto, on the other hand, is arguably the best young superstar in MLB. The 25-year-old is slashing .295/.426/.558 with 23 home runs, 66 RBIs, and an OPS of .985. He’s one of the leading candidates in the AL MVP race, as is fourth in fWAR in the entire league at 5.5.
Soto and Ohtani on the same team would form one of the greatest duos in league history. And technically, it’s a possibility this offseason.
Soto is under his final year of team control and is set to hit free agency this offseason. The Dodgers are one of the few teams who have spent enough in the past to prove they’d be able to sign Soto, who’s expected to sign a contract of at least $500 million.
Would the Dodgers be willing to spend another $500-plus million an offseason after spending over $1 billion? And would Soto even consider a return to the West Coast after his dominance in New York?
All that remains to be seen, but it should definitely be fun for Dodger fans to think about.
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
