Angels News: Experts Continue to Destroy Any Hopes of a Shohei Ohtani Trade
The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and so many other contenders all have one thing in common right now and that is that they would move mountains to be able to add Shohei Ohtani to their roster right now.
This past free agency period was one in which the Dodgers were very careful and din't spend too much money because they know they likely have the best shot at landing the 28-year-old superstar for location purposes. SD hasn't extended Juan Soto yet as they keep an eye on Ohtani's situation and the Yankees play in the biggest market in America.
But as the 2023 regular season moves on and we see how the Los Angeles Angels remain fighting for a playoff spot, any blockbuster trade involving The Unicorn looks less likely every day. Team owner Arte Moreno spoke on the matters prior to opening day and confirmed that he would not make Ohtani available for trade unless the postseason was out of reach for them.
And now it looks like even a huge losing streak won't give rival teams a fighting chance with a deal.
ESPN's Jeff Passan shared his opinion on the unique situation recently and doesn't think LA is approaching it in the smartest way.
"Unless they absolutely collapse, and even if they do frankly absolutely collapse, I have a hard time seeing Ohtani moving at the deadline this year. Even though if he does leave Los Angeles in free agency, whether it's to go up to the Dodgers, or across the country to the New York Mets, to Seattle, San Francisco, New York, wherever it may be, if Ohtani goes and the Angels only get a third-round draft pick for him whereas they could've gotten a bounty at the trade deadline, it's going to be a bad, bad look for the Angels."
(Via Bleacher Report)
The Halos are coming off of a weekend series against the Marlins that saw them get swept and they now are in second to last place in the AL West. As always, it will be interesting to see how these next couple of months play out.
