Hours after Shohei Ohtani pitched Tuesday night in Japan, media outlets there reported that the superstar talent will enter the posting system this winter with the intention of facing major league competition in 2018. The news had been expected — Ohtani’s desire to cross the Pacific is no secret — yet it still created a buzz throughout the sport, with the Los Angeles Times reporting that scouts from 16 major league teams were present at Tuesday’s game.

The Padres, multiple sources told the Union-Tribune, were not one of those teams, and General Manager A.J. Preller, who recently visited Japan to scout other players, has not watched Ohtani in person this season. It’s believed one Padres scout attended the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighter’s first start of the year, in July. San Diego did not make it to Ohtani’s second start on Aug. 31.

Such sparse representation may be surprising to some. The Padres, who have a working agreement with the Fighters and numerous other connections to Japan, have long been linked to Ohtani. As part of an aggressive international push, Preller has hired Japanese luminaries such as Hideo Nomo and Takashi Saito. Ohtani, who due to his age could be the biggest bargain in free-agent history, has been limited to three pitching appearances this season because of ankle and hamstring injuries.

Still, the Padres are one of 30 teams with some level of interest in Ohtani, who wields a potent bat in addition to triple-digit heat. Under baseball’s most recent labor agreement, the 23-year-old will be classified as an international free agent. Money is far from a driving factor; the largest bonus Ohtani can sign for this winter is about $10 million, as opposed to the $200 million or so he could receive by waiting two more years.


After blowing past its 2016-17 international spending allotment, San Diego will not be able to offer Ohtani more than $300,000, but 11 other clubs are under the same penalty. Any team that signs Ohtani will be required to pay a multi-million-dollar posting fee to the Fighters.

The odds that the Padres wind up being that team are unclear, though two Japanese sources suggested San Diego as a long shot; Ohtani’s desire to continue hitting could be better accommodated by an American League team, and one official expressed a belief that Ohtani hopes to play for a contender sooner than later.

Much about Ohtani’s exact motivations remains unknown, setting the stage for a fascinating free agency. For now, the Padres do not appear to be among the most aggressive suitors, though the landscape could change before and after he is officially posted.

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