Despite being buried with Mike Trout on the perennially under .500 Los Angeles Angels, it's pretty cool what Shohei Ohtani is doing. For you stat guys, his WAR at midseason is currently 4.3 which puts him tied for third. Last year he finished with a 9 which led the league. The dude has a cannon on the mound and hits bombs, so you've got an exciting two-way player where there really hasn't been one like this since the early days of Babe Ruth.
So here's the philosophical discussion point: let's say Ohtani finishes with a hitting WAR of 3.5 and a pitching WAR of 5.5, for a grand total of 9 again. Is that more valuable than if Sandy Alcantara or Max Fried comes in with a pitching only WAR Of 8? Or Goldschmidt comes in with a hitting/fielding only WAR of 7.5? Obviously a 9 WAR is better, but Shohei is taking the place of two distinct spots in the lineup - a pitcher spot and a batter spot. This is an important distinction. So in Fried's case, the DH on the Braves (Ozuna) could end up with a WAR of 3 and the combined WAR of those two players is now 11. With Ohtani, having him play both pitcher and batter frees up a roster spot, but not a spot in the lineup. So the "extra" value is basically the value of the last man on the Angels' roster.
Regardless, one thing's for sure, from a salary perspective Ohtani should be the highest paid player in the league, because frankly you should be paying for wins and he provides the most wins.
So here's the philosophical discussion point: let's say Ohtani finishes with a hitting WAR of 3.5 and a pitching WAR of 5.5, for a grand total of 9 again. Is that more valuable than if Sandy Alcantara or Max Fried comes in with a pitching only WAR Of 8? Or Goldschmidt comes in with a hitting/fielding only WAR of 7.5? Obviously a 9 WAR is better, but Shohei is taking the place of two distinct spots in the lineup - a pitcher spot and a batter spot. This is an important distinction. So in Fried's case, the DH on the Braves (Ozuna) could end up with a WAR of 3 and the combined WAR of those two players is now 11. With Ohtani, having him play both pitcher and batter frees up a roster spot, but not a spot in the lineup. So the "extra" value is basically the value of the last man on the Angels' roster.
Regardless, one thing's for sure, from a salary perspective Ohtani should be the highest paid player in the league, because frankly you should be paying for wins and he provides the most wins.