- Ohtani has virtually no chance of signing with McElhenney’s beloved Phillies
- His preferred teams are said to be either the Toronto Blue Jays or L.A. Dodgers
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Rob McElhenney has made a hilarious plea for Shohei Ohtani to swap baseball for soccer and join England fourth division club, Wrexham, rather than to sign with the L.A. Dodgers – Ohtani’s next team.
Ohtani had been MLB’s most coveted free agent since the end of the 2023 season in November, with rumors of an agreement reached with the Toronto Blue Jays before the Japanese sensation signed a 10-year, $700million with the Dodgers, Saturday.
McElhenney, known for his creation, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a sitcom, had weighed into the 28-year-old, two-way player’s future, despite there being relatively no chance of Ohtani signing with the Phillies.
‘Not to Shohei Ohtani: January transfer window is just 22 days away and Welsh is a very easy language to learn!’ McElhenney tweeted on Saturday, hours before Ohtani said ‘Yes’ to the Dodgers.
McElhenney was referring to the January transfer window in soccer. The winter market allows managers to sign new players and to sell members of the squad they deem to be surplus to requirements. Players can either be signed for a fixed transfer fee or on loan.
Rob McElhenney, co-owner of Wrexham, joked about Shohei Ohtani maybe moving to Wales
McElhenney tweeted that Ohtani should learn Welsh, with the transfer window opening soon
Ohtani is MLB’s most coveted free agent since the expiration of his deal with the Angels in Nov.
On Friday, it was revealed that Ohtani was actually not onboard a private jet from Anaheim, California, to Toronto, much to the disappointment fans of the Blue Jays.
The three-time All-Star was expected to command a record contract of $500 million-plus on the free agent market coming off his second AL MVP award in three seasons, and the Dodgers have rewarded him with the exact type of deal he wanted.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins dodged questions about whether Toronto had met with Ohtani, earlier this week, saying only that they are doing everything they can to make the team better.
‘Some meetings that occur, that…