Ex-teammate believes Ohtani will sign with West Coast team
The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes has been one of the major talking points of the offseason thus far, with the Japanese superstar set to meet with the San Diego Padres - the last of seven finalists in the recruitment phase - on Wednesday.
With Ohtani drawing most of the baseball world's attention - with the rest going to Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors - the 23-year-old has held his cards close to his chest in negotiations and hasn't even revealed his thoughts to one of his former teammates.
"He'd be a very good poker player because he doesn't reveal his hand very easy," pitcher Anthony Bass told Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Bass spent 2016 pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters with Ohtani, and although he told Lin he has no idea what Ohtani is thinking, he did offer his best guess as to where Ohtani would land.
Asked former Ohtani teammate Anthony Bass for a prediction. The ex-Padre guessed LAD, SD and SEA might be the top three. “He’d be a very good poker player because he doesn’t reveal his hand very easy,” Bass said.
— Dennis Lin (@sdutdennislin) December 6, 2017
Ohtani met with representatives for the Dodgers and Mariners - among others - on Monday and Tuesday.