Cubs are 'way in' on Shohei Ohtani; 4 to 5 other teams also in the mix

Welcome to another day of obsessive Shohei Ohtani watch - where details remain sparse, but hope endures. In an appearance on 670 The Score Saturday morning, Bruce Levine offered some insights on where things stand and, while it didn't add much in terms of clarity, it did make it clear that the Chicago Cubs are still in the hunt on the two-way superstar.

If I were to wager a guess, the list of suitors looks something like this: the Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Angels, Red sox and Rangers - with maybe a few other teams sniffing around, as well. For more than a week now, the speculation has been it'll come down to Chicago and Los Angeles in the end - but outside of that, details have been few and far between.

Shohei Ohtani checks multiple boxes as the Cubs look to contend

The Cubs are reportedly open to either a short or long-term deal with Ohtani, the 2023 AL MVP, and the fit couldn't be more perfect. Chicago desperately needs a middle-of-the-order bat, especially with Cody Bellinger potentially on his way out the door via free agency. Although he won't pitch in 2024, Ohtani is one of the most potent offensive threats in the league and checks that box.

Then, looking ahead to 2025 and beyond the hope, obviously, is he returns to the mound and continues his career as the two-way sensation he's been to this point. That's what makes this particular free agent case so intriguing, though - there is no guarantee he's what he was when he comes back from surgery and the long-term outlook on him pitching is, for obvious reasons, unclear right now.

So, in all, nothing groundbreaking here from Levine. The Cubs are still in the hunt, they're flexible on what type of contract it might take to land Shohei Ohtani and they're not alone in their pursuit of one of the most exciting players in the game today.