J.D. Martinez: Ohtani has MVP locked up 'for the next 5 years'

As far as Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez is concerned, the American League MVP race is over.

Martinez sees Shohei Ohtani as the easy choice to repeat as MVP thanks to his unparalleled two-way brilliance for the Los Angeles Angels. What's more, he feels Ohtani will leave everyone else in the dust for years to come.

"I think it's a no-brainer," Martinez said, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. "How are you going to compete with Ohtani? He's gonna win it for the next five years. As long as he pitches and he hits, you're not going to beat him.

"Look at (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) last year. If Vladdy didn't win it, nobody's going to win it. It's too much. If you look at the WAR numbers, the value numbers, who else can affect the game on both sides? Just change the name of it to The Ohtani Award."

Ohtani appeared to have some stiff competition last year from Guerrero, who briefly made a run at a triple crown. Still, after completing MLB's first successful two-way season in over a century, Ohtani was the unanimous choice for AL MVP.

While his offensive numbers are down a touch in 2022, Ohtani still owns a .835 OPS with 19 homers, 56 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. He's been even better on the mound, though. The 28-year-old sports a career-best 2.38 ERA and 0.99 WHIP, along with 123 strikeouts and only eight homers allowed in 87 innings. He's surrendered only three earned runs over his last six starts, part of a historic run that included three consecutive shutout outings.

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge may be the only serious threat to dethrone Ohtani this season. Judge currently leads the majors in homers (33) and runs scored (74) while slashing .284/.364/.618 for baseball's best team.

Other potential challengers in the Junior Circuit this year include Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers, Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez, and Houston Astros designated hitter/outfielder Yordan Alvarez.