The Yankees got an up-close look at Shohei Ohtani’s stardom on Monday night, as the two-way superstar crushed a game-tying home run in the eighth inning, the 35th of the year for Ohtani.
Tiki says Ohtani’s heroics should be a reminder to the Yanks that they should look to bring the game’s biggest star to the Bronx at all costs.
“If you’re the Yankees, obviously this year it matters, but for the windows of Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, Shoehi Ohtani makes the most sense, especially if you’re willing to move anybody,” Tiki said, adding that he absolutely would move Anthony Volpe in a trade for Ohtani.
“I don’t think anybody is off limits, except for maybe Aaron Judge.”
Sal can’t imagine giving up a hyped rookie like Volpe, along with multiple other prospects, to only have Ohtani for two-plus months if he signs elsewhere in free agency. But Tiki says acquiring him via trade would be the only way to sell Ohtani on New York before the offseason.
“I think the idea is that the only way you’re gonna get Shohei Ohtani to think about being a New Yorker in free agency is if he experiences being in New York as a Yankee,” Tiki said. “We all know what happened when he was listed. He respectfully declined. But he’s seasoned now…he’s experienced superstardom.”
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