Shohei Ohtani, a two-way superstar for the Angels, will be a free agent at the end of the season, and MLB.com is keeping tabs on all the rumors and news surrounding him.
Report from July 17 claims the Dodgers will not be trading for Shohei Ohtani.
According to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, Shohei Ohtani will not remain in California if he is traded at the next Trade Deadline. Earlier today, Heyman suggested on a Bleacher Report livestream that Angels owner Arte Moreno is unwilling to deal Ohtani to his in-state rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to Heyman, the Dodgers, along with other West Coast teams like San Diego and San Francisco, have a “great chance” to sign Ohtani in free agency.
Moreover, Heyman predicted that the Angels would move Ohtani before the move Deadline with a 25% possibility, and that the Halos would sign Ohtani to a long-term contract in the offseason with a “5-10%” likelihood.
On July 17th, ESPN speculated that the Orioles might make a move for Shohei Ohtani.
The Baltimore Orioles are 57-35 and sit one game back in the American League East thanks to a roster full of promising young players. Since MLB Network analyst Jon Paul Morosi made a compelling case for why Baltimore could be a landing location for Ohtani at the Trade Deadline, it is no longer a mystery that they are trying to add some components at the Deadline.
According to Morosi, the young talent on the Orioles could “entice” the Angels to pursue a trade for Ohtani. Morosi made this claim on MLB Central. With the recent promotion of No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday to Double-A, the Orioles now have eight of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects on their roster.
However, Ohtani has only pitched 10 innings in the past two weeks due to a blister on his pitching hand, so the deal isn’t a perfect fit at the moment. The deal return for the Orioles, who have a significant need for pitching, could not be worthwhile if Ohtani is unable to throw frequently.
Rays are a ‘wild card’ in the Ohtani market, according to a report from July 16th.
ESPN’s Buster Olney has heard that the Yankees would be the most interested in acquiring Ohtani if the Angels were to deal him before this year’s Deadline. Meanwhile, Jon Paul Morosi, an insider for MLB Network, believes the Dodgers have the drive and the youthful potential to make a trade for the two-way superstar.
But is there any surprising team that can overtake those market giants and sign Ohtani?
On Friday’s episode of The Dan Patrick Show, Olney speculated that the AL East-leading Rays could be a “wild card” in the Ohtani sweepstakes.
According to Marc Topkin’s Sunday opinion piece in the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays aren’t likely to trade for Ohtani because they don’t want to “mortgage the future” for any player, let alone a rental who will sign somewhere in a few months.
On MLB Network Radio on Sunday, Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said the organization has the prospect capital and the support from ownership to make a major Deadline splash, so he didn’t rule out a potential push for Ohtani.
After the Trade Deadline, Ohtani will be owed around $10 million through the conclusion of the 2023 season, so the Angels will need a very attractive package of young talent to part with the 29-year-old. When they traded for Nelson Cruz from the Twins at the 2021 Trade Deadline, the Rays took on around half of that in salary.
Angels “in a listening mode” on Ohtani, July 15
Angels front office will reportedly “consider” trade offers for Ohtani, as reported by MLB Network Insider Jon Paul Morosi on Friday. This suggests that the team’s first-half slump may have altered some minds.
Morosi stated on MLB Network that he believes a trade is “still unlikely, but possible.”
Morosi believes the Angels have had an internal discussion and come to the conclusion that, given their current standing in the standings, they have no choice but to listen to the inquiries that are going to come in regarding Shohei despite the extraordinarily high standard that would need to be met in order to trade him.
The Angels’ next move may be heavily influenced by their first homestand in the second half.
The Angels still face three games against the Yankees and three against the Pirates after losing to the Astros on Friday. The last day of the homestand is July 23, which is eight days before the Trade Deadline on August 1.
Ohtani has at least one potential suitor. The Angels’ division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are anticipated to compete with the Angels for Ohtani’s free agent services this winter. The Dodgers may provide the Angels with a promising group of young players.
Many experts believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers are the frontrunner to sign Ohtani this winter, and Morosi agrees. If they wanted to contract him long-term, would they pay a premium now to have him for the rest of the season? The regional animosity is well-known to us. Some may argue that the Angels would never trade Ohtani to their divisional rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. If you think there’s a chance he’ll sign there, though, it makes sense to maximize your long-term prospects by negotiating the greatest possible contract terms.
Given the complexity of the situation, “I really believe that the Angels, right now, are in a listening mode,” and “if they sink in the standings and the offers rise to a certain level, they may act by Aug. 1.”
(Report) The Americans are “most motivated” to get Shohei Ohtani on July 13.
Will Shohei Ohtani be dealt by the Angels prior to the August 1 Trade Deadline? That question has been posed countless times before, and it will be asked again and again as we get closer to that crucial date. But let’s put it aside for the moment and ask something else: Which team would be the most likely to pursue Ohtani if the Angels made him available? ESPN’s Buster Olney has heard from reliable sources that it is the Yankees.
The Yankees are where you should begin. Olney stated Thursday, “The Yankees, the Yankees, the Yankees,” before listing the Rangers and the Rays as other possible suitors for the two-way superstar before the Deadline.
Olney continued, “In talking with sources yesterday, they see the Yankees as potentially being the most motivated because Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton — they are middle-aged players right in the prime of their careers.” There is a chance for the Yankees to win right now.
On July 13, the Padres are likely to enter the Ohtani bidding.
The Padres are six games out of a playoff berth as the second half of the season begins, but it is still unknown if they will be buyers or sellers as the August 1 Trade Deadline approaches. Consistent with the franchise’s strategy of recent seasons, San Diego is likely to compete for Ohtani’s services this winter.
The New York Post quoted MLB Network insider Jon Heyman as saying, “baseball folks expect the Padres to be in the free-agent bidding for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.”
When Ohtani first signed with a Major League team, the Padres reportedly were in the running for his services, though they ultimately lost out to the rival Dodgers in part because the designated hitter had not yet been introduced to the National League.
In the offseason, the Dodgers are widely considered the favorites to sign Ohtani (13 July).
The Dodgers have been trying to sign Shohei Ohtani for over a decade. Ohtani will be a free agent after this season, and Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (subscription needed) just chronicled the team’s long-running obsession with him. There will probably be a few different teams vying for his services. However, Castillo reports that the Dodgers are widely considered the favorites to win the auction.
One rival team executive told Castillo under the condition of anonymity that he would be willing to bet a sushi meal on the Dodgers, despite the fact that tampering rules prevent him from discussing the free agent prospects of other teams. “Three other execs agreed that the Dodgers are in a league of their own. Multiple agents, who requested and were granted anonymity, concurred.
In 2012, when Ohtani was a senior in high school, the Dodgers made an attempt to draft him. Ohtani was ready to join with a Major League Baseball team at the time, but because MLB teams saw him exclusively as a pitcher, he signed with the Nippon Professional Baseball team that drafted him, the Nippon-Ham Fighters.
Five years later, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team “did everything we could” to sign Ohtani. There was, however, a single issue.
“He wanted to DH,” Roberts explained. That was an absolute requirement. The DH wasn’t available.
Ohtani joined the American League’s Angels, where he can play designated hitter and pitch. After a very quiet offseason in which their major free agency additions came on one-year contracts, the National League has finally adopted the designated hitter, allowing the Dodgers to go all out in their pursuit of Ohtani. After this season, they will save at least $67 million in payroll costs. With the contracts of Julio Uras and Clayton Kershaw set to expire and Dustin May slated to miss a significant amount of next season with a right elbow ailment, it is evident that they need an impact starting pitcher.
One Dodgers player assured Castillo, “I know we’ll make a huge offer.”
Ohtani trade possibilities increasing as Angels fall apart, July 9.
The Angels’ status as a playoff contender in the AL West led many to believe that they would not be willing to part with their two-way superstar throughout the first half of the season. Is that calculation shifting now that Ohtani will be a free agent after this season and the Angels have lost nine of their last 10 games before the All-Star break due to Mike Trout’s injury?
In an article for the New York Post, MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman says “maybe,” though he also quotes people close to Angels owner Arte Moreno saying it’s unlikely to happen. The way things are shaping up for the Halos, the blockbuster of blockbusters featuring Ohtani still has a shot at happening before the August 1 Trade Deadline.
Heyman speculates that Ohtani might end up with the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Giants, Mariners, Padres, or Rangers.
Does Trout’s injury boost the possibility of an Ohtani trade? (5th of July).
As we draw closer to the Trade Deadline, it is commonly believed that the Angels will not seriously explore the concept of dealing Ohtani if they are anywhere near postseason contention. Mike Trout’s left wrist hamate fracture on Monday was a big setback for the Angels’ playoff hopes. He will be out for about a month.
On Wednesday, the Angels trailed the Blue Jays by two games for the second AL Wild Card slot, the Mariners by five, and the Red Sox and Guardians by five and a half games, respectively. Ten of their last fourteen games have ended in defeat.
However, MLB Network expert Jon Paul Morosi does not believe Ohtani’s prospects have changed significantly due to Trout’s injury.
“I really believe they’re still in buy mode,” Morosi said on Wednesday. I completely reject the idea that, just because Trout will miss time, Ohtani will be available to teams at the Trade Deadline. At least not at this time, I find that hard to believe.
The Angels are still very much a playoff contender at this time. They consider the reality that they are currently in a winning position. Mickey Mantle, Fielder This season, Moniak has shown flashes of brilliance for the team. They’re probably going to keep playing with the current lineup and hope that they’re still in contention come July. They think their outfield, especially with Jo Adell in the mix, can compete with any other team.
The Angels are reluctant to sell Ohtani for a number of reasons. As a “rental” player, Ohtani’s return is not expected to be high enough to satisfy the fan base.
Keeping Ohtani until the Deadline would provide the team a chance to re-sign him as a free agent, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic pointed out on Wednesday (subscription needed). However, if he were traded prior to free agency, there is a very high likelihood that he would not return to his original team.