Angels News: Mike Trout Says Shohei Ohtani 'Hates Losing,' Wants to Win to Keep Him in LA
The Angels are blessed with having two of baseball's best players. One of them is locked in for pretty much the rest of his career, and the other is getting set to enter free agency in what will turn into one of the greatest bidding wars in MLB history.
While Mike Trout signed his extension before he entered free agency, Shohei Ohtani is unlikely to do the same. He's already been linked to eight big-spending teams, and could command upwards of $500 million next offseason. He would be foolish to sign any deal before testing the open market, which his teammate knows. However, Trout made it clear on MLB Network's High Heat that he wants Ohtani back, and hopes that they can win this season to keep him around.
"Talking to Shohei and obviously playing with him in the past couple years, there’s nothing more that he wants to do than win. And he hates it, as well. He hates losing. He hates going home early," Trout said. "So we got to put a big year together and hopefully keep him here."
It's been long documented that Ohtani wants to be a part of a winning team. Trout's comments only further what we already know.
Since he played in Japan, Ohtani has been as competitive as anyone, always striving to get better. He made it clear this offseason that he wants to win, and, when asked about signing an extension, said that he's just focused on getting better to win games.
It seems like his decision in the offseason will largely be based on that factor. If the Angels prove to Ohtani that they can win this season, they'll have a much better chance at keeping him in Anaheim. But if they struggle again in 2023, and miss the postseason for a ninth consecutive year, they'll likely have to say goodbye to the Ohtani era.
