Chicago Cubs News: Marcus Stroman knows that Shohei Ohtani will get paid

Shohei Ohtani was the star of the World Baseball Classic as he showcased on the world stage his elite ability to both pitch and hit his team to victory. Ohtani recorded the final out of the World Baseball Classic championship game against Team USA on Tuesday when he struck out his current Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout. Ohtani's performance during the World Baseball Classic was the perfect start to an important 2023 calendar year as he will reach free agency after this Major League Baseball season. Speculation has been that Ohtani will be the first Major League Baseball player to cross the $500MM threshold but Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman wouldn't stop there.

Give Ohtani a billion dollars. Mythical unicorn god on the baseball field!
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) March 22, 2023

Game respects game and it is cool to see Stroman acknowledge what baseball fans and other players are seeing in regard to Ohtani is something that we never thought we would see. Since signing with the Cubs ahead of the 2022 season, Stroman has been active in recruiting top free agents to the Cubs on Twitter and there is no doubt that the team should take no half-measures in their pursuit of Ohtani.

The common theory is that Ohtani may prefer to remain on the west coast and that is why there has been a belief that the Los Angeles Dodgers may be the favorites for the current Angels' superstar and the New York Mets would be the only exception.

The Cubs, however, shouldn't be discarded as a potential suitor for Ohtani. The Cubs were among the finalists to sign Ohtani when he first arrived in Major League Baseball in 2018 and there is also the connection with right fielder Seiya Suzuki.

Seiya Suzuki, via interpreter Toy Matsushita, on Team Japan having his jersey present in the WBC title celebration:

“How they did that for me, holding up my uniform — not just in that situation, but in every game they had my uniform in the dugout — it meant a lot for me.” pic.twitter.com/Psw6wug0iw
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 22, 2023

Suzuki is an important figured for Team Japan and is well respected by his teammates including Ohtani. Suzuki's oblique injury prevented him from being able to participate in the World Baseball Classic but he has not been shy about his willingness to recruit Ohtani to the Cubs. For the Cubs, there should be no price that they are unwilling to pay if it means they are able to land Ohtani.

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