Which MLB Team Has the Best Shot at Landing Shohei Ohtani?

San Diego Padres

2017 Starting Rotation Performance: 7.0 fWAR, 4.83 ERA, 4.58 SIERA, 19.4% strikeout rate

Current Rotation: Clayton Richard, Dinelson Lamet, Luis Perdomo, Robbie Erlin, Colin Rea

Potential 2018 Impact

If you're thinking this is a weird fit, you're not wrong. However, we should never underestimate the feeling of comfort -- the Nippon-Ham Fighters, Ohtani's team in Japan, has worked out at the Padres' Spring Training complex in Peoria, Arizona in recent years. That'd be one less thing to adjust to for the upcoming season in a year that will include plenty of adjustments.

Similar to the Angels, San Diego had one of the worst performing units when measured by rotation fWAR -- their 7.0 was better than just seven other clubs.

This fit would be an interesting one because it'd strictly be with the years beyond 2018 in mind. The Padres did outperform preseason expectations on their way to a 71-91 record, but let's not get it twisted -- they're a rebuilding club, and the process won't be over in time to compete for a playoff spot next year. Ohtani could potentially be a difference maker to any club, and although he does pitch and hit, he's still just one person.

Feasible Long-Term Fit?

While San Diego may be multiple seasons away from being a consistent contender, acquiring someone of Ohtani's status would certainly help accelerate the process a bit without having to make a significant financial obligation or giving up any prospects. He can step in and immediately became one of the focal points of the organization's rebuild.

Residing in the National League is a drag since they can't offer him at-bats at designated hitter outside of interleague games, but they've recently showed a willingness to experiment with an outside-the-box idea. San Diego let Christian Bethancourt catch and log some innings as a reliever in 2017 because of his great arm. The results weren't great, but that bodes well for showing Ohtani they're serious about getting creative to find at-bats for him.

If he does land with the Padres, it'll be interesting to see how they eventually handle this situation financially. The largest contract they've ever handed out in franchise history was to Wil Myers, which was a six-year, $83 million deal, while the largest free-agent contract they've handed out was a four-year, $75 million deal to James Shields.