Report: Angels not completely ruling out Ohtani trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
As the Los Angeles Angels seem to be slowly moving away from the AL West playoffs, it looks like trading superstar Shohei Ohtani isn’t entirely out of the question.
With the Aug. 1 trade deadline less than a month away, it’s certainly a potential deal on the minds of many MLB front offices — and most likely the Giants, who are seen by some as a contender. competitive for the bidirectional phenomenon.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that the Angels say “they will know a lot more over the next two or three weeks” about their plans “to trade Ohtani.”
“People are still having a hard time imagining owner Arte Moreno trading the game’s best current player, and possibly the best ever, even though he’s somehow convinced that they have no chance of re-sign it,” Heyman wrote. “Even so, the angel people seem to be leaving open the slight possibility of an Ohtani blockbuster.”
Angels general manager Perry Minasian said in November that Los Angeles would not trade Ohtani until after the 2023 MLB season. And according to Heyman, Moreno was “flawed against a trade” at last summer’s deadline. But this season, the Angels are 6 1/2 games from first place and 3 1/2 games from the third and final wildcard spot in the AL.
Los Angeles has gone 15-17 since June 1, and things aren’t looking up after fellow superstar Mike Trout suffered a broken hamate bone earlier this week. The Giants, meanwhile, went 19-12 in the same span and are making a playoff push just 2 1/2 games shy of first in the NL West.
So far in 2023, Ohtani has battled his way to a 7-4 record with a 3.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts while going .296/.383/.650 at home plate with 31 home runs.
Ohtani is set to become a free agent this winter, but the Giants have fielded a promising mix of rookies and veterans this season who could definitely use the hitting and throwing titan on the stretch. Additionally, Ohtani spending a few months in the Bay could make things much easier for San Francisco once the free agency contest for him begins.
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, and the thought of achieving superstardom has plagued the Giants franchise and its fans recently.
But when a talent like Ohtani might be on the block, it’s worth going all out.
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