3 reasons why Shohei Ohtani's UCL injury could be a blessing in disguise for the Angels

2) Other teams that might've gone all out on Ohtani will at least have to question their plans following the diagnosis

All we've heard virtually all season regarding Shohei Ohtani is where he's going to go in free agency. Dodgers? Mets? Yankees? We've really heard it all. These teams that were prepared to throw upwards of $500 million at him might have more cause to pause.

We know Arte Moreno, even with how badly he wants Ohtani back, will have a limit in terms of how much he's willing to spend. In all likelihood he wouldn't outbid a guy like Steve Cohen who seems to stop at nothing to get the players his organization wants. This injury helps open the door to the possibility that other teams might not go all out for Ohtani.

Will a Giants team that couldn't come to terms with signing Carlos Correa after a failed physical spend the amount of money necessary on a pitcher with a torn UCL? We had assumed the Giants would be a key team in the Ohtani sweepstakes, but will they still go to the levels they were going to?

Will a team like the Mets that have had such a disastrous year take the risk that Ohtani might not be the same guy?

The market softening for Ohtani means the Angels have a better shot. I have no idea if they'll actually retain him or even if this injury stops them from pursuing him (it shouldn't). What I do know is Ohtani's dreams of earning upwards of $600 million appear, at least in my opinion, to be down the drain.