The Los Angeles Angels on Saturday signed two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani to a one-year, $30 million contract extension for the 2023 season.
Ohtani, 28, already was under team control for next season, but the agreement bypasses the arbitration process. The largest contract ever awarded in arbitration was a $27 million deal for Mookie Betts in 2020 as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Betts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers one month later.
Ohtani is eligible to become a free agent open to all teams after the 2023 season.
He is the reigning American League MVP and was named an All-Star in each of the past two seasons as a hitter as well as a pitcher. He was nearing the end of a two-year, $8.5 million extension signed in of 2021.
Ohtani has thrived in both roles. He is batting .276 with an .888 OPS to go along with 34 home runs and 94 RBIs this season, after posting numbers of .257/.965 last season with 46 home runs and 100 RBIs while being named MVP.
As a pitcher, Ohtani is 15-8 with a 2.35 ERA in 27 starts this season and has 213 strikeouts in 161 innings. And he has only continued to deliver as the season has progressed, with a 2.31 ERA in 12 second-half starts, while taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning Thursday against the Oakland Athletics.
The Oshu, Japan, native needs just one inning pitched in his final outing next week to become the first player in major league history to qualify among the league leaders as a pitcher and a hitter.
Ohtani is third in the American League in slugging percentage and fourth in OPS. He is also fourth in ERA and third in strikeouts.
Over his career, Ohtani is batting .268 with an .890 OPS in five seasons, all with the Angels, and has 127 home runs with 341 RBIs in 561 games.
–Field Level Media
