The Mariners Aren't Out of the Shohei Sweepstakes Just Yet

As of the writing of this article, DraftKings is setting the odds that Ohtani signs with the Mariners at +2000, astronomically low chances and only slightly better than the Minnesota Twins, who have odds of +2500. This might make fans pretty sad but the likelihood might be higher than the oddsmakers think.

When most players are considering where they want to sign their first long-term deal, what's often discussed most are the monetary terms: total value and average annual value. For Shohei Ohtani, things are a little different. Based on his past decisions, money has never been his primary concern.

A prime example of this was his decision to come to MLB at the age of 23, severely limiting his earnings because of the posting agreement with NPB which disincentivizes players to come to the US before the age of 25. Although his career earnings for his first three seasons totaled just <$1.5 million, he signed a deal with the Angels solely to work toward his goal of being the first two-way MLB player in modern history.

So if Ohtani doesn't care about the money, what other factors is he considering and why do they help Seattle's candidacy as one of his landing spots?

Location, Location, Location

Despite Ohtani and his team stating that he isn't married to staying on the West Coast, it's still an important factor for him. When courting suitors for his initial MLB deal, Ohtani's location preference was chalked up to him wanting to be closer to Japan. More details have come out about how living on the West Coast also allows him to have more private personal life, an impossibility in cities with ruthless media like New York and Boston.

When asked about his thoughts on Seattle as a city during the All-Star break, Ohtani had positive thoughts, expressing his appreciation and commenting that he actually spent offseason time in the area.

Hopefully he as little to no qualms with overcast weather and occasional minor earthquakes.