Rob McElhenney makes hilarious plea for Shohei Ohtani to swap baseball for soccer and join Wrexham: ‘Welsh is a very easy language to learn!’

Rob McElhenney has made a hilarious call for Shohei Ohtani to swap baseball for football and join his team in England’s fourth division, Wrexham, amid speculation about the MLB star’s next team after his contract with the LA Angels expires.

Ohtani has been MLB’s most coveted free agent since the end of the 2023 season in November, with rumors of an agreement being reached with either the Toronto Blue Jays or Los Angeles Dodgers intensifying by the day.

Now, McElhenney, known for creating the sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has weighed in on the future of the 28-year-old two-way player, despite the fact that they have little to no chance of Ohtani signing with the Phillies.

“Not Shohei Ohtani: there are only 22 days left until the January transfer window and Welsh is very easy to learn!” McElhenney tweeted Saturday.

The 46-year-old American actor and producer is referring to the January transfer window in football. The winter market allows managers to sign new players and sell team members they feel are not up to par. Players can be signed either for a fixed transfer fee or loaned out.

Rob McElhenney, co-owner of Wrexham, joked that Shohei Ohtani might move to Wales.

McElhenney tweeted that Ohtani should learn Welsh as the transfer window opens soon.

Ohtani has been MLB’s most coveted free agent since his contract with the Angels expired in November.

On Friday, it was revealed that Ohtani was not in fact aboard the private jet traveling from Anaheim, California, to Toronto, much to the dismay of Blue Jays fans.

The three-time All-Star is expected to fetch a record contract worth more than $500 million in free agency, earning his second AL MVP award in three seasons.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins dodged questions about whether Toronto met with Ohtani earlier this week, saying only that they are doing everything they can to make the team better.

“Some meetings happen and don’t happen, I won’t go into detail,” Atkins said. “Just like I said earlier about the interested parties (and did not comment), as far as free agents are concerned, they have earned that right and we want to treat that with the utmost respect.”

Ohtani, a three-time AL MVP award winner, has strong ties to the Dodgers or Blue Jays.

Ohtani also met with the Dodgers, team general manager Brandon Gomez confirmed. Ohtani leads the AL with 44 homers and hit .304 with 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases for the Angels in a season that ended Sept. 3 due to an oblique injury.

He was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound, striking out 167 and walking 55 in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Aug. 23. On September 19, he underwent surgery that will keep him off the mound until 2025.

Ohtani hasn’t spoken to reporters since Aug. 9 after being unable to make the conference call after accepting the MVP award.