"It’s the largest salary ever for an arbitration-eligible player" - MLB insider reports on Shohei Ohtani's humungous $30 million extension to avoid arbitration

One of the biggest questions heading into next season is where will Shohei Ohtani land? The answer is that he will still be an Angel - at least for now. As reported by MLB insider Jeff Passan, the reigning American League MVP will remain as a Los Angeles Angel through 2023.

"Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $30 million contract to avoid arbitration. It’s the largest salary ever for an arbitration-eligible player and will be his final number before he hits the free agent jackpot following the 2023 season." - @ Jeff Passan

The deal between the Los Angeles Angels front office and Ohtani is record-shattering in itself. The Japanese superstar's $30 million salary for next season was a $24.5 million increase from his 2021 payday.

This makes Ohtani's deal the highest paid salary and increase for an arbitration-eligible player since Mookie Betts' $27 million deal with the Boston Red Sox and Jacob deGrom's $9.6 million increase in 2019.

Shohei Ohtani awarded by the Angels

"More hardware for his collection 🏆 Tonight, we honored Shohei Ohtani with our team MVP and Nick Adenhart (Pitcher of the Year) awards, as voted on by his teammates!" - @ Los Angeles Angels

In a year fueled by league-wide MVP takes for both Ohtani and Aaron Judge, the former recently received awards for his amazing play this season.

Prior to the game against the Texas Rangers, Ohtani was given the team MVP and Nick Adenhart (best pitcher) award by the Los Angeles Angels organization. The game against the Rangers ended with a slim victory in favor of the Angels 3-2. Ohtani went 1-for-4 finishing the game with a hit.