Shohei Ohtani's Exit from Angels for Dodgers Discussed by GM Minasian: 'Life Goes On'

The Los Angeles Angels lost arguably their best player in franchise history last week to a team just a short drive away, leaving a huge void to be filled.

Shohei Ohtani's signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers is not something the Angels will be able to get over soon, but for Angels GM Perry Minasian, he can only have respect for Ohtani as he starts his new journey.

Now the Angels have a journey of their own to start in recovery from the loss of Ohtani. Per the Associated Press, Minasian knows that losing the star player is just part of baseball, and it's up to the organization to figure out where to go next.

"It's somebody that I have a huge amount of respect for personally, the organization loved having," Minasian said Friday. "He's one of the best players that's ever played for this organization, and we understand that, but life goes on. We're going to take the rest of the offseason and work as hard as we can to put a really competitive team on the field."

Ohtani picked the Dodgers over the Angels along with several other teams. His $700 million contract is the highest by total value in North American pro sports history.

Ohtani had a strong desire to play for a winner, and he certainly got that in the Dodgers. Had the Angels been able to match the Dodgers' lofty offer, it's uncertain whether or not Ohtani would have stayed in Anaheim.

In his six seasons with the Angels, Ohtani did not reach the postseason one time. On the contrary, he now joins a team that has made the postseason every year since 2013, has been to three World Series since 2017 and won the title in 2020.

Los Angeles has had disappointing endings to the past two seasons, however. The Dodgers won 100+ games in 2022 and 2023, but were bounced out of the postseason in the Divisional Series in both of those years.

Now with Ohtani on the roster, the Dodgers are looking for him, plus returning stars like Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, to lead them to postseason glory.

Meanwhile for the Angels, things aren't looking as positive. After a 73-89 finish a season ago, the Angels are now without Ohtani, and the baseball world has kept a keen eye on Mike Trout's future in Los Angeles.

While Minasian says that "life goes on" following Ohtani's departure, it doesn't make filling the void any easier.