‘He’d own Chicago’: Cubs eyeing second chance to sign Shohei Ohtani
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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
CHICAGO — If only the designated hitter rule had come to the National League prior to 2022. It could have changed the course of Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani‘s career — as well as the trajectory of the Chicago Cubs. At least that’s what the Cubs were thinking when they pursued him back in 2017, before he signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
“It was pretty clear he wanted to do both [hitting and pitching], and DHing was the best option for that,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said last week at the general managers meetings. “As good as the meeting with him went, we always knew it was going to be an uphill climb.”
The Cubs were one of seven finalists for Ohtani’s services back then — and one of two not located on the West Coast. At the time, Chicago was in the middle of a winning window, having made the NLCS three straight seasons, taking home a World Series championship in 2016.
“We had things rolling pretty well at that point,” Hoyer said. “I think he was intrigued.”
So were the Cubs.
Ohtani, now the biggest free agent in the history of the sport, is deciding where he wants to play next, and the Cubs are again interested in courting him, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Ohtani is expected to win his second American League Most Valuable Player Award when winners are announced Thursday evening. Everyone knew he could pitch, but what he’s done at the plate over the past six seasons has been eye-opening — for fans and executives alike.
“There were zero questions about his ability on the mound,” Hoyer recalled. “The offensive part of his game was underestimated.”
There will be plenty of competition for Ohtani this winter, but at least Chicago has the DH to offer this time around. It also just hired widely respected manager Craig Counsell to take over an 83-win team that just missed the postseason in 2023. Additionally, the team has payroll coming off the books in the form of Jason Heyward ($21 million) and Cody Bellinger ($17.5 million), leaving money for a massive deal. The Cubs were under the luxury tax threshold in 2023, ranking 11th in payroll, making it a little less undesirable to exceed it, if necessary.
The timing could finally be right for a Cubs-Ohtani union.
“Ohtani would own Wrigley Field, literally,” one NL scout joked about his potential salary. “He’d own Chicago, for sure.”
What Ohtani pursuit means for Bellinger
Bellinger was a 2023 success story. Signed to a one-year deal by Chicago before the season, he won a Silver Slugger Award, along with Comeback Player of the Year honors after compiling a 133 OPS+. And he played great defense, both in center field and at first base. He accomplished what he set out to do in coming to Chicago: Rebuild his value and head back to free agency.
“There’s broad interest in Cody Bellinger,” his agent, Scott Boras, said recently. “Cody had a great experience in Chicago. He can play well anywhere. A lot of this has to do with ownership. It has to do with their commitment.”
The Cubs seem committed to spending money this offseason, especially after signing Counsell to a five-year, $40 million contract, a record for a manager.
“I saw quickly that the organization is in great health,” Counsell said. “There is momentum happening here.”
But while a pairing of Ohtani and Bellinger would be a dream scenario for fans, it’s unlikely. Multiple sources think the Cubs are more likely to sign Ohtani than bring Bellinger back on his own massive deal.
“I think Bellinger is as good as gone,” one source familiar with the situation said at the beginning of the offseason.
Circumstances and history are two reasons the Cubs and Bellinger may not reunite. First, there likely will be teams not in the mix for Ohtani that are desperate for the next-best left-handed bat available. The New York Yankees were interested in Bellinger at the trade deadline and will be again, according to sources familiar with their dealings. The Toronto Blue Jays have been missing a dangerous left-handed hitter as well. The San Francisco Giants also are among Bellinger’s suitors.
Under Hoyer and owner Tom Ricketts, the Cubs have been measured in their dealings with free agents. Setting Ohtani aside, the organization isn’t the type that gets into bidding wars. And it won’t for Bellinger, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Another side to the narrative involves Boras and Ricketts personally. They don’t have the type of relationship where the agent can pick up the phone and negotiate with the owner like Boras has done in other situations.
To wit: The Cubs have not signed a Boras client to a multiyear deal in a very long time. That includes players on the free agent market, ones they’ve drafted who have won an MVP (Kris Bryant) or those they’ve traded for who have won a Cy Young Award (Jake Arrieta). They’ve all moved on. Bellinger is likely to as well.
Boras was asked if the timing of a Bellinger deal is related to Ohtani, who is represented by a different agency.
“Bellinger is a position player, Shohei is a DH, so those platforms of demand are very different,” Boras said. “Teams that are approaching Cody are teams that want him to play every day in the field. They may go for a DH and Cody, but their [paths] don’t cross because of that reason.”
Ohtani isn’t the only missing piece
Whether Ohtani becomes a Cub or not, the team has other holes to fill, including potentially at first and third base, as well as its starting pitching. They can dip down into their farm system for a trade, if necessary, as it’s as strong as it’s ever been, ranking second in ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel’s latest analysis.
The team also has power-hitting infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel playing first base during winter ball in an attempt to find a home for him around the diamond. If the New York Mets were to make Pete Alonso available for a trade, the Cubs could be a fit, with Morel as a centerpiece player in return, according to sources familiar with their thinking.
But Alonso recently switched agents to Boras — who is also San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto‘s agent. Both players will be free agents after 2024, and while a trade-and-sign deal for either player sounds sensible, it’s unlikely.
“I don’t think any player wants to play in an organization that he does not know,” Boras said. “That’s the normal course.”
In other words, playing out the year, then testing the free agent waters is more than likely for Alonso and Soto — unless they sign back with their current teams. New Mets president David Stearns also said he expects Alonso to be his starting first baseman on Opening Day — though, a lot can change between now and then.
At third base, a Cubs reunion with veteran Jeimer Candelario doesn’t seem likely, according to a source familiar with the situation. Interest in Candelario should be high coming off a career-type year, with Toronto and his old team, Washington, already showing some. Former second baseman Nick Madrigal played admirably at third for the Cubs when he was healthy last season, but he probably isn’t the everyday option there moving forward.
The Cubs are also in on Japanese pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga — the latter has already spent time in Chicago — according to sources familiar with the situation. They also have an eye on Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes, in case the Brewers begin to subtract — and Milwaukee is willing to trade with the team that just pilfered its manager. The Cubs would like to acquire a starter after Marcus Stroman opted out of his deal recently — though young pitching is a sudden strength for the organization. Minor league righty Cade Horton could end up being the top pitching prospect in baseball next year, according to McDaniel.
But the big fish is still Ohtani. Like all his suitors so far, the Cubs are keeping their strategy close to the vest.
“It didn’t surprise me in the end, he picked an AL team,” Hoyer said about the 2017 sweepstakes, “but wish we could roll back the clock and take a shot at it again.”
Sometimes second chances never materialize, but six years after attempting to woo him the first time, the Cubs are getting another shot.
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart wouldn’t say if being ranked 12th by the College Football Playoff selection committee motivated the Bulldogs to prove a point in Saturday night’s game against No. 7 Tennessee.
Coming off last week’s ugly 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, their second defeat of the season, the Bulldogs would be the first team left out of the playoff if the 12-team bracket was based on the current rankings. No. 13 Boise State would have received the automatic bid as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion and have jumped them.
That’s probably not the case anymore, after Georgia manhandled Tennessee 31-17 at Sanford Stadium.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for. I really don’t,” Smart said of the CFP selection committee. “I wish they could really define the criteria. I wish they could do the eyeball test where they come down here and look at the people we’re playing against and look at them. You can’t see that stuff on TV, and so I don’t know what they look for. But that’s for somebody else to decide. I’m worried about our team.”
For the first time in a while, Georgia looked pretty good on both sides of the ball against Tennessee. The Bulldogs fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter but came back to tie the score at 17 at the half. Tennessee had only eight first downs and didn’t score in the final 30 minutes. It was the ninth time a Josh Heupel-coached team has scored fewer than 20 points; four of them came against Georgia.
The Bulldogs won their 29th consecutive game at home and defeated the Volunteers for the eighth straight time, all by double digits.
“Our kids showed resilience,” Smart said. “I’m proud of them. Look, it was a week ago, a couple of hours, that we were dead and gone. People had written us off. It’s hard to play in this league, week in and week out, on the road.”
After the Ole Miss loss, Georgia fell from third to 12th in the CFP rankings. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chairman of the CFP selection committee, said the Bulldogs’ inconsistent offense and turnovers were reasons why.
“They’re not in that environment,” Smart said. “They’re not at Ole Miss in that environment, playing against that defense, which is top five in the country with one of the best pass rushers in the country, and they’re fired up. They got a two-score lead, and they’re coming every play. They don’t know. They don’t understand that.”
Georgia has played the most difficult schedule in the FBS, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index, and has the third-best strength of record, which reflects whether an average Top 25 team would have a team’s record or better against its schedule.
The Bulldogs also lost 41-34 at Alabama on Sept. 28 after falling behind 28-0 in the first half. They defeated Clemson 34-3 in their opener and won 30-15 at Texas on Oct. 19.
Adding a dominant victory over Tennessee should help Georgia’s CFP chances. It closes the regular season with two non-SEC games at home, against UMass on Saturday and rival Georgia Tech on Nov. 29.
“It’s just the tale of each week, and we’re trying to be the cumulative, whole, really good quality team and not be on this emotional roller coaster that’s controlled by people in a room somewhere that may not understand football like we do as coaches,” Smart said. “We as coaches, look at people and say, ‘What can we do better? How do we get better?’ I respect their decision. I respect their opinion. But I mean, it’s different in our league.”
One of the big reasons for Georgia’s success against Tennessee was quarterback Carson Beck, who completed 25 of 40 passes for 347 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had thrown 12 interceptions in the previous six games.
Beck also scored on a 10-yard run that gave Georgia a 24-17 lead with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
“I didn’t really feel any pressure, to be honest,” Beck said. “I stood up in front of the team on Monday and talked to them about how I felt about how our season has gone. I told them that whatever has happened has happened and that all we can control is what we can control moving forward.”
Georgia’s offensive line didn’t allow a sack, while the Bulldogs sacked Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava five times. Georgia had 453 yards and went 5-for-5 in the red zone.
“I think everybody understood the situation that we were in,” Beck said. “When our backs are against the wall, the only way out is through what is in front of you.”
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Pete Thamel
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Eli Lederman
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Eli Lederman
ESPN Staff Writer
- Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Julian Lewis, the No. 2 player and quarterback in the 2025 class, decommitted from USC on Sunday, sources told ESPN, sealing a seismic development for one of the nation’s top prospects in the closing weeks of the recruiting cycle.
Lewis’ decommitment, which had been expected, comes the day after the 6-foot-1, 195-pound quarterback took an unofficial visit to Georgia for the game against Tennessee. He also visited Colorado on Oct. 26 and expressed interest in Indiana throughout his recruitment.
The plan remains for Lewis to commit in the upcoming weeks and enroll early in school, according to sources. He’s the top uncommitted player in the class of 2025 and his choice looms as one of the biggest stories of the early signing period with Colorado, Georgia and Indiana expected to contend for his signature before the signing period opens Dec. 4.
Sources also told ESPN on Sunday that four-star Texas A&M quarterback pledge Husan Longstreet, No. 47 in the 2025 ESPN 300, has flipped his pledge to USC in the wake of Lewis’ departure from the Trojans’ incoming class.
USC quarterbacks coach Luke Huard attended Longstreet’s playoff game at Corona Centennial High School in California on Friday night, and ESPN’s No. 4 pocket passer visited the Trojans during their game against Nebraska on Saturday.
Lewis had been verbally committed to the Trojans since Aug. 22, 2023. Yet questions had swirled over his recruitment from the summer into the fall and all the way through to his decommitment from USC on Sunday.
Lewis’ move marks the latest blow to a USC class that has now lost six commitments from the 2025 ESPN 300 in this cycle.
That list of high-profile departures from Lincoln Riley’s incoming class includes five-star defenders Justus Terry and Isaiah Gibson, and Lewis’ exit stands as USC’s third recruiting loss in the past seven days following the flips of defensive lineman Hayden Lowe (Miami) and cornerback Shamar Arnoux (Auburn).
The Trojans sat ninth in ESPN’s latest class rankings for the 2025 cycle prior to Lewis’ decommitment.
With the move, Lewis instantly regains status as the one of nation’s most sought-after uncommitted prospects. He first entered that realm in 2022 when he burst onto the national scene with 4,118 yards and 48 touchdowns while leading Carrollton to the Georgia 7A state title game in his freshman season.
That debut campaign earned Lewis a place as the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class before he reclassified into the 2025 cycle earlier this year, several months after his commitment to USC last August.
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