When Shohei Ohtani struck out Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to close out the World Baseball Classic, it was an iconic baseball moment and a full manifestation of all of the intangibles Ohtani bears -- the self-assuredness, the desire to dominate the greatest players. He's a natural showman, his broad grin belying well-earned competitive confidence. And as manager Phil Nevin said in conversation earlier this year: "He wants to be better at everything than anybody."
Late Wednesday night, the Angels announced that Ohtani will not pitch for the rest of the season, after he suffered an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow. Losing Ohtani for the rest of the baseball season is unfortunate for fans. But for the many teams lying in wait for Ohtani's upcoming free agency, it's even worse.
Front offices don't really invest in intangibles anymore. They create contract offers based on production, projecting what value players will provide in the future. Ohtani's injury has dramatically changed the context for these offers, because nobody knows what exactly he will generate as a pitcher. He's already had one Tommy John elbow reconstruction and is now facing a second major procedure.
Ohtani's free agency was already going to be the most interesting storyline of the offseason. Now it's even more fascinating, and there are consequences in almost every direction: