Angels Still Alive in Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes Per Latest Report

Two teams appear to be out on the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes

In what many Angels fans are holding out hope for this offseason, it appears that two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has not ruled out the possibility of reuniting to his former team next season.

According to Michael Marino, the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox appear to be out on the Ohtani sweepstakes this offseason, but not the Angels.

Sources: Ohtani sweepstakes are moving along and the Texas Rangers and at least one team in the AL East has dropped out. Teams who feel they aren’t real players are beginning to take themselves out of talks.

— Michael Marino (@MarinoMLB) November 29, 2023

As the Rangers and Red Sox both dropped out of the race, there is still little to be known about who Ohtani will sign with this offseason, as it has been reported that he is asking teams to remain quiet and is holding secret meetings surrounding his free agency.

After the news that the two teams dropped out, Marino later reported that the teams that are still in play for the reigning two-time MVP are the Dodgers, Cubs, Blue Jays, and the Angels, potentially among others.

Among the teams I have confirmed are still in for MLB Phenom Shohei Ohtani:

Dodgers
Cubs
Blue Jays
Angels

This isn’t an exclusive list, others still remain in. These are just the ones I know are still in the mix. https://t.co/t2UG852Xfk

— Michael Marino (@MarinoMLB) November 29, 2023

While Ohtani has had a very quiet free agency, the Angels have been just as quiet, as nobody can get any info out of the team.

It’s crazy to me that we know basically nothing about the #Angels offseason priorities.

Sure, we can all sit here and say they need to upgrade in a certain area.

But Perry is silent, Angels reporters can’t get any info out of the org, and national reporters also have nothing.

— BTH (@BeyondTheHalo) November 28, 2023

While the Angels would love to have Ohtani back, he will likely sign a deal that will pay him over $500 million.

If the Angels are able to bring him back, that will be nearly $1 billion invested in two players as Mike Trout has a $426.5 million contract.

While Ohtani has never been a very vocal guy to the public, the one thing that he has always stated was his desire to win.

Since his arrival with the Angels in 2018, Ohtani has been brilliant at every aspect of the game and is considered one of the greatest players to ever play the game alongside Trout.

Unfortunately, the elephant in the room with the Angels and their two superstar player is they have not made the playoffs since 2014. Ohtani was well off playing for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and Trout was a young 23-year-old who was just winning his first AL MVP trophy.

Almost nine years later, the two have won a total of five MVPs and for some reason, the Angels have yet to put together a competent roster behind the two.

Despite the Angels' struggles with Ohtani, he has never been one to complain about playing with the Angels and has actually been the very opposite as he has constantly stated he loves playing with the Angels and he loves his teammates, the organization and living in Southern California.

Before last year's trade deadline, trade rumors surrounded Ohtani all season long and when asked if he wanted to play with another team, Ohtani was not shy to state he wants to win with the Angels and continue to play here.

If the Angels are able to re-sign Ohtani this offseason, they will need to provide quite the sales pitch to him that they can indeed win with him and Trout for the next 10 years.