Shohei Ohtani Trade Rumors: Angels Take Star Off Market, Plan to Buy at MLB Deadline
The biggest saga in Major League Baseball is over, at least for the time being—Los Angeles Angels superstar slugger and starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani won't be dealt before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
According to SI.com's Tom Verducci: "Ohtani is off the trade market. After fielding various trade offers for Ohtani and holding internal discussions the past two days, the Angels decided late Wednesday afternoon not only to hold Ohtani but also to be buyers in advance of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, according to a source familiar with the club's decision."
ESPN's Alden Gonzalez reported the decision to pull Ohtani off the market was made in part because of the Angels' recent success and also because the team was "underwhelmed" by offers it had received.
The Angels' decision to keep Ohtani should have rippling effects around baseball.
For one, L.A. will likely be buyers now in a bid to end an eight-year playoff drought, with Verducci reporting that "general manager Perry Minasian will focus on adding a starting pitcher and a reliever before the deadline."
The Angels entered Wednesday four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the final Wild Card berth in the American League. The team's 7-3 record since the All-Star break kept them in the postseason picture and likely aided Wednesday's decision.
The rest of the trade market should also get moving quickly now, with contenders free to pursue other options. The possibility of Ohtani being moved had completely stalled other potential talks.
"We've been talking to some of these teams that are interested in Ohtani," an executive of a team that plans to be sellers ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline told The Athletic's Jayson Stark. "And they're saying they're not ready to give up prospects yet because they need to save them, in case they have to include them in an Ohtani deal."
Those prospects will now be back in play.
The cold, hard reality for the Angels, however, is that they might lose the game's most unique superstar since Babe Ruth for absolutely nothing this winter when he hits free agency. A sport-altering, precedent-setting bidding war is going to break out for his services.
Perhaps Ohtani—who has thrived with the Angels and is well on his way to winning his second AL MVP award—will choose the comfort and familiarity of Los Angeles and re-sign with the team. A playoff berth would certainly help in that regard, so the Angels would be wise to be aggressive buyers in the next week.
Not trading him is a gamble, no doubt. But who wants to be the decision-maker that traded not only the best slugger in baseball (he's hitting .299 with 36 homers, 77 RBI, 77 runs and a 1.066 OPS) but also one of its best starting pitchers (8-5 with a 3.71 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 148 strikeouts)?
Not Angels owner Arte Moreno, at least. But it's a Game of Thrones moment for these Angels, because winter is very much coming.
