Yankees, Dodgers, Top Teams' Trade Targets as Angels Pull Shohei Ohtani from Market

Los Angeles Angels superstar slugger/pitcher Shohei Ohtani is reportedly off the trade market, per Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci on Wednesday.

"Shohei 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."

Jon Heyman of the New York Post previously reported in a B/R video that "most contending teams" had checked in" on Ohtani, but they'll apparently have to look elsewhere to bolster their rosters prior to the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Ohtani being pulled from trade consideration may very well open things up for the rest of the league.

"We've been talking to some of these teams that are interested in Ohtani," a high-ranking MLB team executive whose franchise is in "sell mode" 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."

With Ohtani now off the table, though, attention can turn toward other players who could be on the move.

Here's a look at four teams—the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies—and what they may do with the trade deadline looming.

New York Yankees

Heyman characterized the 54-48 Yankees, who are fighting just to make the playoffs at this point, as being in "limbo."

"Yankees higher-ups met within the last few days and understandably decided to remain in trade limbo for a few more days to see where they stand before making any big buys before the Aug. 1 deadline," Heyman wrote.

If the Yankees become buyers, then they clearly need some offensive help, with the team ninth in the American League in OPS and 10th in runs scored.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger has been connected to the Yankees, but Heyman isn't sure if he's even headed anywhere.

"They've often been linked to Cubs star center fielder Cody Bellinger, who's engineering a big return to form after a couple off seasons following an 2019 MVP year with the Dodgers, but the Cubs are one of many teams also in trade limbo at the moment so there's no guarantee Bellinger will be dealt," Heyman wrote.

Bellinger would be a great pickup, though. The left-hander entered Wednesday with a .314 batting average (.903 OPS) with 14 home runs and 45 RBI.

Earlier this month, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com connected the Yankees with Colorado Rockies outfielder Randal Grichuk, who is hitting .307 (.842 OPS).

Feinsand also connected the Yanks with Dylan Carlson of the St. Louis Cardinals, who would appear to be sellers at the deadline thanks to a losing season that finds them in fourth place in the NL Central.

Carlson has struggled in his age-24 season with just five home runs, 24 RBI, a .237 batting average and .696 OPS. Still, he's early on his career and could absolutely develop into a bigger offensive threat.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Injuries and ineffectiveness have marred the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting rotation, which could be the Achilles' heel that prevents L.A. from a World Series run.

Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers are reportedly in the market for starting pitching and had their eyes on two Chicago White Sox hurlers in Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Wednesday. However, Giolito has since been traded to the Los Angeles Angels.

"While the White Sox and Rays have exchanged names on veteran starter Lance Lynn, the Los Angeles Dodgers have not given up their pursuit of Lynn, while also showing interest in White Sox teammate Lucas Giolito," Nightengale wrote.

Lynn has struggled mightily in 2023, giving up an MLB-high 28 home runs. He's 6-9 with a 6.18 ERA but has struck out 139 batters in 115 innings. However, if he finds his 2018-2021 form (3.42 ERA) with a change in scenery, then he could be a steal.

The name to watch, however, might be Cardinals star third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Redbirds president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Martin Kilcoyne of Fox-2 in St. Louis that the team would trade people, but it was unclear whether it would be "household names" or impending free agents.

"Right now, I can tell you, we're going to trade people, you just don't know if it's going to be household names or guys who are more likely to not be here next year," he said.

"It's easy to talk about what we may or may not do at the moment, but we're not going to just give away players. We want to get some value in return. We want to get some value that helps us in 2024. And that's really going to be our focus as we enter the trading period."

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez previously reported that the Dodgers "have long been enamored" with St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado. González also wrote there's a belief Arenado would waive his no-trade clause for a Dodgers move.

Arenado is hitting .287 (.856 OPS) with 22 home runs and 77 RBI.

Philadelphia Phillies

After a rough start, the defending NL champions are firmly in the playoff race and look set to take a wild card berth barring a collapse.

The Phils still want some reinforcements, though, and Nightengale reported on July 23 that the team is looking for a "right-handed corner outfielder" with Tommy Pham of the New York Mets specifically in mind. Pham entered Wednesday hitting .271 (.827 OPS) with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 75 games.

Feinsand also called Mets closer David Robertson a "potential fit" with either the Phillies, Dodgers, or Tampa Bay Rays.

"It remains to be seen whether the Mets decide to become big-time sellers (think Max Scherzer and/or Justin Verlander), but the 38-year-old Robertson is headed back to free agency after signing a one-year, $10 million deal with New York last offseason. Robertson has excelled in both setup and closing roles and has a wealth of postseason experience, making him a fit for virtually every contender out there."

Robertson is 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA and 14 saves.

It remains to be seen if the 47-54 Mets, who are floundering in the NL playoff race and need a miracle to get back in the mix, decide to give up prior to the deadline in light of massive preseason expectations.

It also remains to be seen if the Mets would be willing to do business with a division rival. But the Phillies will be buyers, and the Mets might be sellers, so the obvious connection is there.

Houston Astros

It's not every day that you see an MLB general manager be upfront with the media, especially around trade deadline time, but Dana Brown of the Astros has refreshingly broken that mold.

Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, this is what Brown had to say recently:

"If we can get starting pitching because we want the innings to get through the season, that'd be great. But the thing is, the bullpen piece could be just as big because our guys are taxed a little bit. And so that could be just as big because we have (José) Urquidy coming back, which is sort of like acquiring a guy in a trade. You get a guy like Urquidy back. I would value the starter and the (reliever) very close in terms of ranking. I would value both guys."

He also said this, per Michael Shapiro of the Houston Chronicle.

"We're looking for a left-handed bat since we're so right-handed. So it has nothing to do with if [Brantley] is here or not ... If he's here, that's great. That's like icing on the cake. But we were always looking for a left-handed bat."

So with all that in mind, it makes sense that the Astros have been connected to Detroit Tigers right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. The 31-year-old is 4-6 with a 3.49 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 100.2 innings (16 starts).

Nightengale also reported in mid-July that the Astros checked in with the Cubs on Bellinger and also starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (10-7 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.14 WHIP).

Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors also listed a host of potential bullpen arms the team can pursue.

Franco mentioned Chris Stratton, Keynan Middleton and Kyle Finnegan as right-handed options. Meanwhile, Brooks Raley, Brent Suter, Brad Hand and Sam Moll are left-handed options named by Franco.

The Astros are in the unusual position this year of chasing the AL West division leader with the Texas Rangers currently leading the way, but a few shrewd deadline moves from Houston could change the narrative.