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Shohei Ohtani is close to picking his first big league team. Unfortunately for Twins fans, that team won’t be in Minnesota. Ohtani, the Japanese two-way player, informed the Twins on Sunday that they had been eliminated from contention. Besides the Twins, the list of rejected teams included the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, Brewers, Pirates, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Mets.At one point during Sunday afternoon, MLB Insider Jon Heyman had reported that Ohtani was “telling teams he prefers a smaller market.” This sounded great to Twins fans with a smaller market in the Midwest calling Ohtani’s name. Not very long afterward, he brought Twins Territory back down to earth: Mike Beradino at the Pioneer Press reported that Ohtani and Nex Balelo, his agent, didn’t give any reason as to why the Twins had been eliminated. According to him, they told the Twins they were “very appreciative of the interest and the pitch.” Ohtani is meeting with teams in Los Angeles and his finalists include a lot of West Coast teams. This includes the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels. Another team like the Chicago Cubs or Texas Rangers could sweep in and get him but he seems destined for the West Coast. During the 2017 campaign, Ohtani fought through a quadriceps and ankle injury. However in 2016, he slashed .322/.416/.588 with 22 home runs. On the mound, he was even more impressive with a 1.86 ERA including 174 strikeouts in 140 innings. The Twins struck out on Ohtani so now maybe the focus can turn to signing a different frontline starter like Ohtani’s countryman Yu Darvish. Were you disappointed with the news? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article