It would have been difficult to believe a year ago, but Shohei Ohtani may have played his last game with the Los Angeles Angels.

The 2021 AL MVP endured the latest losing season for the Angels, which may have sunk his chances at a repeat win of that award. He and L.A. agreed to a record-shattering one-year, $30 million contract to avoid arbitration going into 2023, but after that he will be a free agent.

The situation at a glance

Ohtani was a unanimous choice for AL MVP in 2021 after going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA on the mound and batting .257 with 46 homers and 100 RBI at the plate. He was arguably even better this season, going 15-9 as a starter with a 2.33 ERA and .273 as a batter with 34 dingers and 95 runs driven in. However, the Yankees’ Aaron Judge is seen as the likely 2022 AL MVP following his historic 62-homer campaign.

Speculation as to Ohtani’s next hometown took off this summer, when his name began being dangled in various rumors ahead of the trade deadline. Nothing came to pass, but Ohtani’s previous comments regarding contract extension talks have been ominous.

"I really like the team. I love the fans, but more than that, I want to win. I’ll leave it at that," he told reporters through an interpreter at the end of 2021.