ANAHEIM – The Los Angeles Angels today agreed on a two-year $ 8.5 million deal with two-sided player Shohei Ohtani. The agreement avoids an arbitration hearing. Ohtani was the only player to qualify for unsigned arbitration on Angels’ 40-man roster.
The 26-year old Ohtani appeared in 254 games as a batter in three seasons with the Angels and has put together 47 doubles, seven triples, 47 home runs, 147 RBI’s and 29 stolen bases. In 2018, he made 10 starts as a pitcher, 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA (51.2 INN – 19 runs allowed) and 66 strikeouts en route to winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award.
The native of Ōshū, Japan, originally signed with the Angels on December 9, 2017 after five seasons with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Japan Pacific League.