Rangers GM handles losing Shohei Ohtani bid with class and humor

Shohei Ohtani made the biggest decision of his professional career on Friday, agreeing to sign with the Los Angeles Angels. That development already makes the Angels one of the big winners of the offseason. As for the six other teams that were reportedly finalists to sign Ohtani, it’s an extremely disappointing development that they’ll have to rally from quickly with the Winter Meetings beginning on Sunday.

Among those teams licking their wounds are the Texas Rangers. For the majority of the process, the Rangers had the most international slot bonus money to offer Ohtani. That made them leading contenders to sign him. Unfortunately for them, Ohtani decided to take roughly $1 million less to go to Los Angeles.

It’s a decision that’s going to sting the Rangers for awhile, especially with Ohtani going to another team in their division, but general manager Jon Daniels still took the high road by congratulating the Japanese star. In a statement released on Friday, Daniels and the Rangers offered Ohtani well wishes on his new journey. He even managed to add some humor to the situation.

The most notable portion of the statement reads: “We’re disappointed we weren’t Shohei Ohtani’s choice, but wish him the best in Anaheim. He impressed us on and off the field at every turn. However, had he asked our opinion, we would have suggested the National League.”

We’re sure Rangers fans don’t consider Ohtani’s decision a laughing matter, but being miserable about it won’t do Daniels or his front office cohorts any good.

Based on reports, his joke was nearly a reality anyway. Four of the seven teams Ohtani considered — Cubs, Dodgers, Giants and Padres — are in the National League. He wasn’t against the NL by any means. Angels general manager Billy Eppler just did the best job making Ohtani feel comfortable. That process included multiple trips to Japan that predated Ohtani being available to come to Major League Baseball.

The American League figures to be a better fit anyway with Ohtani seeking to continue as a two-way player. He’ll fit perfectly into the Angels starting rotation, and they can slot him at designated hitter on days when he isn’t pitching. That keeps him from having to run around the outfield, which would have been his reality in the NL.

Now that Daniels has offered his congratulations to Ohtani, his attention will turn to restocking a Rangers team that fell short of the postseason in 2017. The roster still has plenty of talent, but it also has holes that Ohtani would have helped fill for a bargain price. There’s a lot of work to be done, and there’s no time for the Rangers to sulk.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Yahoo Sports Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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