The Angels continue to be perennially disappointing. They continue to squander away massive amounts of talents and their fans suffer because of it. Their has been no indication that Ohtani is on the block but should he be? Let’s talk about it.
Ohtani will be a free agent after next season and we are seeing a similar situation play out with Juan Soto. Ohtani is the most unique player in MLB history so even a Soto trade doesn’t comp perfectly to Ohtani. Part of the problem is we don’t have a good read on what Ohtani wants. We know Soto wants more money than Washington is willing to give him. Ohtani chose the Angels because that is where he wanted to play, we don’t know if he will be willing to sign an extension for a non-west coast team.
While it may be in the Angels best interest to trade Ohtani in order to restock the prospect pantry it would also be waving a major white flag. The Angels have long held on to the fact that they want to be competitive, they spend money and sign players but they usually end up being the wrong players. If they trade Ohtani they are admitting defeat and that doesn’t seem to be the vibe they want to give off.
It is unlikely that Ohtani will be traded but it is fun to think about. Imagine his talent swinging a post season race as a midseason acquisition. We won’t be able to find out more about Ohtani’s future until we find out his motivations.
