Angels’ Ohtani gets raise to $650,000 from $545,000
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani got a modest raise from the Los Angeles Angels after winning the AL Rookie of the Year award, agreeing to a one-year contract that boosts his pay to $650,000 from last year's minimum of $545,000.
Los Angeles announced agreements Monday with 22 players not yet eligible for arbitration. Ohtani has a split contract with a salary of $272,500 while in the minor leagues.
The 24-year-old two-way star went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts as a pitcher and played 104 games overall as a rookie, hitting .285 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs. He had surgery Oct. 1 to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament, and the Angels think the earliest he could be ready to hit in games is in May. He isn't expected to pitch this year.
Ohtani left the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's Central League after the 2017 season and signed with the Angels for a bonus of $2,315,000. He will not be eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2020 season.
He will earn considerably more than Tampa Bay pitcher Blake Snell, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner. The Rays renewed his contract Sunday for a salary while in the majors of $573,700, a raise of $15,500 and a figure $18,700 above the major league minimum, which rose to $555,000.
