Shohei Ohtani has captured everyone’s hearts this March. The two-way baseball phenomenon has been playing in Major League Baseball since 2018. And while baseball fans have seen his talent before, the World Baseball Classic led his popularity to skyrocket. Leading Japan to an undefeated victory throughout the whole tournament, Ohtani has been rightly termed as a once-in-a-hundred-years kind of talent. Baseball fans are witnessing history being made.

One of his famous fans is former Yankee Alex Rodriguez. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, A-Rod is quite the talent himself. Working as an analyst and commentator for FOX Sports, Rodriguez recently had the chance to talk to Ohtani after the WBC. And he only had words of praise for the Japanese talent and his play. In fact, the former shortstop thinks Ohtani has huge potential that MLB shouldn’t miss out on.

Alex Rodriguez doesn’t want MLB to regret Shohei Ohtani

Or perhaps more accurately, not regret giving him a bigger contract, so to speak. Ohtani currently plays for the LA Angels and signed the biggest contract for an arbitration-eligible player in league history in 2023 at $30 million. But after this season is over, the 28-year-old will be a free agent. Even before the WBC, it was predicted that he would have teams lining up to sign him.

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Speaking to Michael Kay on his podcast, A-Rod spoke of Ohtani, “He’s a prince of a guy…just did a marvelous job in baseball. I mean, if they [MLB] don’t do something with this guy, we’re gonna miss another massive opportunity.”

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He admitted that MLB may not be able to pay him for all his talent, “Probably they’re not gonna be able to pay him what he’s worth. Because you have constraints of revenue and resources and obviously everyone has a budget…I think he will be our first $50 million player.” But Rodriguez sure believes in Ohtani’s potential!

A-Rod names the big teams that Ohtani might prefer to join

It’s almost certain that the Japanese star won’t stay with the Angels after the upcoming season is over. So where could he go next? A-Rod guesses the Dodgers. They’re the only other West Coast MLB team, which Ohtani chose for its relative proximity to Japan. But there are two giants on the East Coast too, the Yankees and the Mets.

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“I think there’s two decisions to make – he’s either gonna end up as a Dodger or a Yankee. Actually, add the Mets there too ’cause Steve Cohen is always in play with his pocket bug and passion for bringing a championship to the Mets…He has to be in one of the big twos- New York or LA,” said Rodriguez.

Which team do you think Ohtani will be signing for after the 2023 season? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!