Angels Afterall Considering Trade Shohei Ohtani, Considering Performance
Angels Not Excluding Exchange Shohei Ohtani, Considering Performance
It’s becoming increasingly likely that Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani will be traded as the team falls further and further out of the AL West postseason picture.
With the MLB trade deadline approaching on August 1, this possible move is undoubtedly on the thoughts of many front offices, including that of the Giants, who are considered by some to be a strong contender for the two-way wonder.
It was reported Thursday by Jon Heyman of the New York Post that the Angels have said “they will ‘know a lot more in the next two or three weeks’ regarding their plans” to sell Ohtani.
Officials Speak
Even if owner Arte Moreno is sure there is no chance to re-sign him, “people still have a hard time imagining” him dealing the game’s finest current player and possibly the best ever, as Heyman put it.
Still, the Angels front office “seems to be leaving open the slight possibility” of an Ohtani megahit.
In November, Angels GM Perry Minasian declared that the team will not deal Ohtani until the 2023 MLB season.
Moreno, according to Heyman, was “dead set against a trade” at last summer’s trade deadline. However, this year the Angels sit 6.5 games out of the division leaders and 3.5 games back of the third and final wild card spot in the American League.
Since June 1st, Los Angeles has gone 15-17, and after Mike Trout fractured his hamate bone earlier this week, things aren’t looking good.
Meanwhile, the Giants have gone 19-12 over the same time frame and are only 2 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West, making a postseason push.
Ohtani is 7-4 on the mound with a 3.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts this 2023 season, and he is also slashing.296/.383/.650 with 31 home runs at the plate.
The Giants might utilize the batting, pitching behemoth down the stretch even though Ohtani is poised to become a free agency this winter because of the team’s promising combination of youngsters and veterans.
San Francisco may have an advantage in the free-agent sweepstakes for Ohtani if he spends a few months in the Bay Area.
Even if it’s wishful thinking, the Giants and their fans can’t stop dreaming about signing a superstar.
However, going all out is necessary when a player of Ohtani’s caliber is on the market.
