Shohei Ohtani Rumors: MLB Writer Pitches 6 for 1 Trade with Angels Rival
If the Angels decide to put Shohei Ohtani on the trade block here in a little over a week, there will be no shortage of suitors. Organizations will be lining up for the chance to acquire the modern-day Babe Ruth, and the Angels will then get their pick of the lot.
For them to part ways with Ohtani, it will take a king's ransom, and there are only so many teams that can provide that level of package. Especially considering that Ohtani is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason, will teams be willing to trade away the farm for three months of Ohtani? That remains to be seen, so the list of potential players could get smaller.
One of those teams could be the Texas Rangers. And before you laugh this off because they are the in-division rivals of the Angels, Texas does have quite a bit of talented prospects. MLB.com put together some trade packages for the Angels superstar, and the return from the Rangers could be enough to entice the Angels.
“Rangers get: Shohei Ohtani, Angels get: INF/OF Ezequiel Duran, RHP Owen White (Rangers No. 2 prospect, No. 44 overall), INF Luisangel Acuña (Rangers No. 3 prospect, No. 45 overall), RHP Jack Leiter (Rangers No. 5 prospect, No. 89 overall), INF Justin Foscue (Rangers No. 7 prospect), OF Dustin Harris (Rangers No. 8 prospect)”
This would be quite the haul for the Angels, considering that Ohtani is a potential rental player. They would get some of the best prospects in the Texas farm system, while depleting one of their rivals in the process.
“The Rangers are going to try their hardest to hold onto top prospect Evan Carter, and they might be able to, considering Ohtani is a rental. But this would still be a massive return -- and maybe too much from the Rangers' side -- for the two-way superstar.”
The Angels would be getting a few top-100 prospects in return for Ohtani, including infielder Ezequiel Duran, who is having a very productive year for Texas. He is hitting .297 with 13 home runs and 37 runs batted in for the year. Duran is still only 24 years old so he could be a building block of the future.
It may sting to send Ohtani to an in-division rival, but long term this could benefit the organization. The Rangers are going for it now, and getting Ohtani could really boost their chances of bringing home their first-ever World Series this season.
At this point, an Ohtani trade still seems unlikely, especially to the Rangers. After all, anything is possible in baseball, and this storyline will continue until we have a conclusion about it all.
