Shohei Ohtani Rumors: New Angels Contract 'Far Less Likely' After Moreno Decision

Shohei Ohtani may not be a member of the Los Angeles Angels much longer.

The Moreno family, which owns the team, announced Monday that it was no longer exploring potential sales of the Angels. That could have a ripple effect, as Andy Martino of SNY reported Wednesday there is belief around the league Ohtani will be gone after the 2023 campaign.

"The strong perception around the league was that Moreno's decision to walk away from more than $2.5 billion made it far less likely that Ohtani, a free agent after this season, would stay in Anaheim," Moreno wrote. "He was already viewed as a likely goner, but one never knows what a new owner could have done to convince him to commit."

Monday's announcement likely wasn't welcome news for plenty of Los Angeles fans considering things have not gone according to plan since the Moreno family purchased the team in 2003.

The Angels won the World Series the year before the Moreno family came aboard but has not been to the Fall Classic since. It has finished with a losing record in each of the last seven years and has reached the postseason just once since 2009.

"Moreno's poor stewardship is so well established that there appears little reason why Ohtani would choose to remain," Martino wrote.

Some of the league's most notable teams would surely jump at the chance to add the two-way star. Martino noted it is widely expected that the Los Angeles Dodgers will pursue him, while ESPN's Jeff Passan listed the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox as potential landing spots on The Pat McAfee Show in December.

The interest comes as no surprise.

Ohtani, 28, won the American League MVP in 2021 and finished second in voting in 2022. He has enough power as a hitter to anchor a lineup with a combined 80 home runs over the last two years but is also a dominant pitcher who can sit atop a rotation.

He finished the 2022 campaign with a 2.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Angels look to trade him this season if and when they fall out of contention. That would at least allow them to garner some return value before he potentially signs elsewhere as a free agent.

And it would create quite the bidding war between the contenders.