According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Mets are no longer in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes as the Winter Meetings approach, so Sal Licata gave a not-so-fond farewell to the Met that never was.
"You know what? Screw Ohtani, I don't want him here anyway!" Sal said. "You can't handle New York? See ya! Don't care. Babe Ruth my ass. Go to Toronto, stay on the west coast. Plus, you're paying $500 million for a guy who can't pitch this year, and he's only getting older."
Sal doesn't see the Mets backing away as any indication that they won't be spending big this offseason, and instead just saw it as a team ready to spend, but the player didn't see the team as a long-term fit. So, you simply move on to the next big fish.
"They asked. They were in on him," Sal said. "It wasn't like they were gonna take a step back and not go all in. they inquired, legitimate interest in Shohei Ohtani, they didn't get a response, he wasn't interested in them. Move on and spend that money elsewhere.
"I admit that I wanted him…but it's more of a business move than a baseball move."
