The Mets send Shohei Ohtani a message after two-way phenom's foul ball breaks part of Citi Field

Shohei Ohtani visited Citi Field recently, the home of the New York Mets. This is a place that the fan base would love to see Ohtani 81 times a year. He's entering free agency and could see upwards of $500 million from the Mets, who have shown a willingness to spend boatloads.

Before that happens, the Los Angeles Angels superstar may have damaged his reputation there. While batting, since he tore his UCL and can only play offense now, the presumptive AL MVP sent a foul ball deep into right field. It was almost a home run, but it hit the scoreboard in foul territory.

The light in that section of the display was broken, leaving a black square where Ohtani's ball had been. The team put a message up after that happened on the main scoreboard:

“We’re sending you the bill for that, Shohei.”

They came back on Sunday with a new Jumbotron message:

“Please don’t break anything else, Shohei!”

Ohtani is second in average exit velocity this season to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. He is third in max exit velocity behind Giancarlo Stanton and Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves.

When he hits a ball, even if it goes foul, it's likely traveling over 100 miles per hour. That can, and clearly has, do some serious damage to anything that's in the way. In this case, it destroyed part of the Mets' scoreboard.

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Could Shohei Ohtani join the Mets in free agency?

Shohei Ohtani may have messed up Citi Field, but the New York Mets are not going to let that stop them from pursuing the superstar in free agency. His UCL tear is also unlikely to lower his price tag all that much.

Shohei Ohtani might go to the Mets

The Mets have shown a willingness to spend, as they had the highest payroll in baseball in 2023. They nearly had an even higher payroll when they briefly agreed to a massive contract with Carlos Correa.

Adding Ohtani will cost, and he may not even want to move to New York. However, the Mets will still try and do whatever they can to convince him to take his talents there.