If New York baseball fans thought Aaron Judge’s pending free agency was a massive storyline throughout his historic home run chase last year, imagine what this season is going to be like here and around the world concerning the truly incomparable Shohei Ohtani.

The two-way Angels superstar — an All-Star level starting pitcher and slugger, the likes of which baseball hasn’t seen since the days of Babe Ruth — is scheduled to reach free agency at the end of the 2023 season. The Mets and the Yankees will be at the front of the line if Ohtani reaches the open market, based on their vast resources and their past interest.

Ohtani’s high-powered teammate, 10-time All-Star outfielder Mike Trout, vowed to reporters Wednesday in Arizona that he’s “going to do everything I can to keep Shohei here, for sure.”

Trout already owns the largest contract in MLB history, the 12-year agreement worth $426.5 million that he signed in 2019. Judge surpassed the average annual value of Trout’s megadeal, re-upping with the Yankees for nine years and $360 million after setting the American League record with 62 home runs.