MLB fans are scratching their heads after a story by baseball insider Ken Rosenthal regarding Japanese baseball players appeared in The Athletic on Thursday. The piece focused on the difficulties that the New York Mets could have in signing prospective free-agent phenomenon Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, no matter how much money Mets owner Steve Cohen offers.Allison McCague, PhD 🧬⚾️@PetitePhDMLB executives and agents say24214MLB executives and agents say https://t.co/nLVBajN3IsIn the piece, Rosenthal mused that the Mets may have difficulty putting Ohtani on the same pitching staff as current Mets hurler and Japanese native Kodai Senga. Citing the musings of unnamed major-league executives and agents, Rosenthal wrote: Some Japanese players are uncomfortable being major-league teammates with other Japanese players because of the importance of seniority in Japan’s hierarchical culture...The relationship between Senga and Ohtani, if one even exists, is not known.MLB fans were quick to question the seemingly dubious statement:pitch type unknown@colleensullivan@PetitePhD Ken’s just trolling us now right? This sounds like a whole bunch of assumptions2@PetitePhD Ken’s just trolling us now right? This sounds like a whole bunch of assumptionsWebster@wendysdotcomI too like making up nonsense twitter.com/petitephd/stat…Allison McCague, PhD 🧬⚾️@PetitePhDMLB executives and agents say214MLB executives and agents say https://t.co/nLVBajN3IsI too like making up nonsense twitter.com/petitephd/stat…マイク@Skelerads@PetitePhD Why do they continue to have people with no knowledge of the subject write for them, out of nowhere all these cookie cutter copy paste exact replica sports writers are experts on the 100+ year history of baseball in japan8@PetitePhD Why do they continue to have people with no knowledge of the subject write for them, out of nowhere all these cookie cutter copy paste exact replica sports writers are experts on the 100+ year history of baseball in japanRosenthal hinted that the Mets could even attempt to trade Senga to the Angels in a deal to attempt to sign Ohtani before he hits free agency, as well as eliminate any perceived awkwardness of having two standout Japanese pitchers of different ages on the same staff. For the record, Senga is 30 and Ohtani is 28. All of this comes without any confirmation that the two Japanese stars would have a problem pitching together. Rosenthal also notes that Senga has a full no-trade clause in his contract.Max Rieper@maxrieper@PetitePhD Aren't there whole teams full of Japanese players in....Japan?18@PetitePhD Aren't there whole teams full of Japanese players in....Japan?陳彥翰 Chen Yen-Han 🌻@chen_yenhan@PetitePhD By his logic, the NPB would have the spiciest locker room drama known to man12@PetitePhD By his logic, the NPB would have the spiciest locker room drama known to manAdam Seth Moss@LFNJSinner@PetitePhD Kuroda and Tanaka pitched together....never was an issue3@PetitePhD Kuroda and Tanaka pitched together....never was an issueSome MLB fans stopped just short of accusing Rosenthal of outright racism in his reporting. Of particular note is that there seem to be no sources willing to go on the record in his story, and that no one knows who the supposed agents and executives are making such claims about the comfort level of Japanese players playing together.Ollie@olisamirEvery time I think The Athletic has its shit together, their editors let through some incredibly outdated and dumb shitCongrats on perpetuating some tiresome stereotypes, Ken. Japanese players having been playing in MLB for decades and have all sorts of different personalities! twitter.com/petitephd/stat…Allison McCague, PhD 🧬⚾️@PetitePhDMLB executives and agents say2014MLB executives and agents say https://t.co/nLVBajN3IsEvery time I think The Athletic has its shit together, their editors let through some incredibly outdated and dumb shitCongrats on perpetuating some tiresome stereotypes, Ken. Japanese players having been playing in MLB for decades and have all sorts of different personalities! twitter.com/petitephd/stat…Adam Seth Moss@LFNJSinner@TransMensHoops @PetitePhD I feel like this is the Japanese equivalent of the Hispanic players being called lazy all the time due to inbred racism1@TransMensHoops @PetitePhD I feel like this is the Japanese equivalent of the Hispanic players being called lazy all the time due to inbred racismKristian™️@krossiantv2That hateful midget has been insinuating this crap for far too long twitter.com/PetitePhD/stat…Allison McCague, PhD 🧬⚾️@PetitePhDMLB executives and agents say114MLB executives and agents say https://t.co/nLVBajN3IsThat hateful midget has been insinuating this crap for far too long twitter.com/PetitePhD/stat…It will be interesting to see whether Rosenthal adds or retracts from his story, as Thursday's piece has seemingly left MLB fans everywhere from being confused to outright enraged.Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球@GaijinBaseballKen... wtf are you talking about? twitter.com/PetitePhD/stat…Allison McCague, PhD 🧬⚾️@PetitePhDMLB executives and agents say573MLB executives and agents say https://t.co/nLVBajN3IsKen... wtf are you talking about? twitter.com/PetitePhD/stat…Jordan@NatFan9What the hell is this? twitter.com/petitephd/stat…Allison McCague, PhD 🧬⚾️@PetitePhDMLB executives and agents say114MLB executives and agents say https://t.co/nLVBajN3IsWhat the hell is this? twitter.com/petitephd/stat…David Young 🎙️ #Vin@DavidYoungTBLAWTF Rosenthal? How could they field entire leagues of teams in Japan? HELLO??? This is lazy and dim at best and casually racist at worst. twitter.com/petitephd/stat…Allison McCague, PhD 🧬⚾️@PetitePhDMLB executives and agents say314MLB executives and agents say https://t.co/nLVBajN3IsWTF Rosenthal? How could they field entire leagues of teams in Japan? HELLO??? This is lazy and dim at best and casually racist at worst. twitter.com/petitephd/stat…It did appear that an entire team of Japanese players was perfectly at ease in winning Team Japan's third World Baseball Classic championship just a few weeks ago. Cliff Watkins@cliff_watkins@PetitePhD did these dudes not just watch the WBC?!?!8@PetitePhD did these dudes not just watch the WBC?!?!No one in MLB is sure what Ohtani will do after 2023Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels reacts during the first inning against the Seattle MarinersMLB fans continue to ponder what Ohtani will do this coming offseason. Baseball journalists continue to speculate about the upcoming bidding war for the superstar's services. While some say he might get $50 million a season, others speculate that money might not be his main determining factor. As far as Ohtani, he has remained completely silent on the matter of where his career will take him after this season.