D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote an article on Monday night detailing the Mets expected pursuit of superstar Shohei Ohtani when the two-way player becomes a free agent following the 2023 season.

When Cohen was asked about Ohtani by the Post he said all the right things, “Hard to think about next year. I’m focused on this season.”

However, Ohtani is undoubtedly on the minds of Mets fans and will be throughout the season as the team looks to bounce back from a disappointing end to the 2022 season with an early playoff exit. Angels owner Arte Moreno recently announced that he had taken the franchise off the market, making it even more likely that Ohtani will not return to the team next season.

While there’s still the potential for the Mets to pursue Ohtani at the trade deadline this year, it’s apparent that Cohen’s deep pockets will have the Mets involved when free agency begins after the 2023 World Series.

Here’s one Mets person speaking about his assumption regarding Ohtani (and probably most everyone else’s too) to the Post: “The Mets will make Ohtani the best-paid player in the history of sports — whether he plays for the Mets or not — because the offer will be insane. And if someone else wants to beat it go ahead.”

It’s been widely speculated that Ohtani will become baseball’s first $500 million player. “MLB executives and agents believe Shohei Ohtani may be baseball’s first $500M+ man when he enters free agency,” ESPN writer Alden Gonzalez noted in an article earlier this month.

The 28-year-old had a phenomenal 2022 season with the Angels hitting .273/.356/.519/.875 with 34 homers, 95 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 30 doubles in 2022. He led all designated hitters with at least 100 at-bats in hits, runs, total bases, triples, homers, RBIs and walks. Ohtani also owned an 18-game hitting streak last year.

As for Ohtani the pitcher, the righty excelled in 2022. He had a better ERA+ as a pitcher (172) than both the Mets’ Max Scherzer and new Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, he had a better strikeout percentage (33.2 percent) than Gerrit Cole and Corbin Burnes. He allowed the third-fewest extra-base hits (39) of any starting pitcher in the American League (with a minimum of 600 opponent at-bats). The two-time All-Star finished with a 2.33 ERA, 219 strikeouts, and 44 walks.