Could Potential Angels Sale Allow Rangers To Make Ohtani Run?
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Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno is interested in selling the team. Could that help any team trying to acquire superstar pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani?
And where do the the Texas Rangers stand as potential suitors?
The Angels announced the possibility on Tuesday, saying that the "organization has initiated a formal process to evaluate strategic alternatives include a possible sale of the team."
Forbes values the team at $2.2 billion. Moreno bought the team for $184 million in 2003.
Ohtani was a potential trade target at the end of the deadline earlier this month, but the Angels didn’t move him. He is an unrestricted free agent in 2024 at the age of 29. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported earlier this season that Ohtani will likely seek a deal that pays him $50 million per season.
CBSSports.com put together a list of the five teams that might be best position to make a run at Ohtani this winter in a trade. The usual suspects made the list — the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
The fifth? The Rangers. CBS Sports, which called Texas the "wild card team," has the following reasoning:
If owner Ray Davis and general manager Chris Young want to put the Jon Daniels era behind them, they could execute another splash move by adding Ohtani. The Rangers certainly have the prospect means to get a deal done, as they have several notable youngsters in their farm system, such as third baseman Josh Jung; righties Jack Leiter, Owen White, Kumar Rocker, and Brock Porter; and outfielder Evan Carter. It's possible that the Rangers being in the same division would lower their chances of completing a trade; it's also possible that Young wants to build from within, and that Davis would prefer to not hand out another big contract, having received mixed results from Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Still, if the Rangers are serious about making the proverbial leap, then Ohtani should be one of their top targets this winter.
Davis made it clear last week after the firing of Daniels that the club's offseason needs haven’t changed. The Rangers are still interested in adding a couple of front-line starting pitchers and a middle-of-the-order bat.
Ohtani would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. He’s hitting .265 with 27 home runs and 72 RBI. When he’s not hitting, he’s 10-8 with a 2.83 ERA on the mound.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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