Shohei Ohtani may have at least one obstacle to deal with if he ever joins the Mets.
Legendary Mets first baseman and current SNY analyst Keith Hernandez was curt during Wednesday’s broadcast on whether he would give the Japanese superstar his blessing to wear his No. 17 — if Ohtani ever donned the orange and blue.
Play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen posed the hypothetical to Hernandez, who didn’t exactly give his permission to the two-way superstar.
“Well, he couldn’t [wear the number]” Hernandez said of his number, which was officially retired by the Mets last July.
“Well, with your permission he could,” Cohen shot back.
“Don’t ask,” Hernandez replied after a long pause.
At that point, a chuckling Cohen said he would drop the subject.
Hernandez spent parts of seven memorable seasons in Queens from 1983-89, winning five of his 11 Gold Gloves in New York while leading the Mets to their second World Series title in 1986.
Cohen noted that Hernandez, who wore 37 as a member of the Cardinals, switched numbers after being traded to the Mets since his former number was retired for Casey Stengel, the first manager in the franchise’s history.
“I’m sure, Ohtani seeing 17 hanging from rafters, he can just too,” Cohen said.
“I’ll stay out of the conversation,” Hernandez maintained.
The pair’s on-air discussion came as the Mets endured a tough 5-2 loss to the Brewers — hours after team owner Steve Cohen addressed the media about New York’s not-so-amazin’ season.
With Wednesday’s loss, the Mets have a 36-44 record, 17 games back of the Braves for first place in the National League East and 9.0 games out of a wild card spot.
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The owner indicated that if the Mets’ fortunes don’t turn around soon, the organization will not look to add more pieces at the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
Ohtani will command a hefty price tag as a free agent this winter with some agents estimating his next contract being $500M or more.
Ohtani, 28, is in the middle of another historic season for the Angels, leading the majors in home runs (28) and OPS (1.048) and is in second in the bigs with 64 RBIs.
On the mound, the right-hander is second in the majors in K/9 (11.99), third in strikeouts (127), fifth in WHIP (1.04).
Barring injury or drop-off in production, Ohtani, who won American League Most Valuable Player in 2021, appears headed for his second career MVP.
The Angels, who have not been contenders during Ohtani’s stint with the team, are a 1/2 game back of the final AL wild card spot.
There has been speculation Los Angeles may entertain trading Ohtani ahead of the deadline given his uncertain future with the Angels.
Nevertheless, Angels general manager Perry Minasian said last week that trading the generational talent is unlikely.
“It’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at (in the standings),” Minasian said.
For his part, a jersey number might to play no factor in his decision.
Ohtani wore No. 16 in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year while leading Japan to a championship over the United States.
“I’m not overly concerned about what number I’m putting on,” Ohtani said at the time, according to MLB.com.
