Insider: Angels' Shohei Ohtani will sign with Dodgers as free agent

There's yet another sign that Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani could remain in California but head to the National League before Christmas. 

ESPN MLB insider Kiley McDaniel spoke with "26 MLB executives, agents and insiders" regarding Ohtani's upcoming free agency assuming the 28-year-old tests the open market after the season as is widely expected. One in-the-know person confidently told McDaniel that it's thought Ohtani and/or his camp will "use" the San Diego Padres and New York Mets "to run up the price" before the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

"He wants to and will go with the Dodgers," that unnamed individual explained. 

Interestingly, McDaniel noted that the take about Ohtani joining the Dodgers "fits a popular belief, based on industry conversations, that Ohtani would prefer to stay on the West Coast and that the Dodgers represent a first-class franchise that could pay Ohtani handsomely to be part of a perennial contender while allowing him to stay in the part of the country he's believed to prefer." 

One MLB executive told baseball insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post last month that "the Dodgers and Mets should be considered favorites" to land Ohtani's signature. Heyman wrote at that time that sources said Ohtani told the New York Yankees five years ago that "he couldn’t envision himself in New York," but Heyman added that Ohtani's handlers "say that doesn’t necessarily hold now." 

New York-based Japanese baseball writer Eriko Takehama later claimed that Ohtani is "thinking about" playing in New York. That, of course, was before the 18-17 Yankees began Monday in dead last in the AL East standings and before the Mets entered the midweek at 17-18. 

As for the first-place Dodgers, Heyman wrote for a piece published on March 2 that the NL club "cut payroll, and no one denies Ohtani’s impending free agency is one of the reasons." 

McDaniel also mentioned the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs among clubs that could realistically pursue Ohtani as he looks to potentially earn up to $600M total via his next MLB contract. One wonders if Ohtani could "use" interest from any of those teams to ensure he gets the deal he ultimately wants from the Dodgers.