What Will It Take for Texas Rangers to Land Shohei Ohtani?
The Texas Rangers are leading the American League West and are contenders to win the American League and reach the World Series.
Do they need another piece? A pitcher? A hitter? Is there one player out there that could do both?
Why, yes, of course, there is. Los Angeles Angels pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.
With just days remaining until the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the Angels are assessing whether to trade their top player — who will be a free agent after this season — or keep him in an effort to re-sign him.
The Rangers are among the teams connected to a deal for Ohtani. Below are all the reported potential deal scenarios that could entice the Angels to deal Ohtani to the Rangers.
Rangers-Shohei Ohtani Trade Scenarios
Here are all of the different trade scenarios that have been proposed on baseball sites that would land Shohei Ohtani in Texas.
ESPN
The site proposed several deals that would move Ohtani to different teams, including the Rangers.
The deal ESPN proposed:
The Rangers get Ohtani.
The Angels get RHP Brock Porter, RHP Jack Leiter, OF Ezequiel Duran, 2B Justin Foscue, OF Yeison Morrobel
The deal would give the Angels one MLB-ready player in Duran, one that is nearly ready in Foscue, and three others that could be ready in the next 1-3 years. Both pitchers are among the highest-ranked prospects in the Rangers’ system.
Fox Sports
The site proposed deals for 12 different teams that might want to deal for Ohtani.
The deal Fox Sports proposed:
The Rangers get Ohtani.
The Angels get RHP Jack Leiter, RHP Owen White, UT Ezequiel Duran, OF Aaron Zavala, IF Justin Foscue, RHP Emiliano Teodo
It’s a premium deal for the Angels. The Rangers surrender their top pitching prospect, White, along with Leiter. Duran and Foscue lead the bats. Zavala is at Double-A Frisco and Teodo probably needs two more years of development. But all of the prospects are in the Rangers’ MLB Top 30.
The Athletic
The site had its resident former general manager put together deals that could lead to the Rangers acquiring Ohtani.
The Athletic’s deal?
The Rangers get Ohtani.
The Angels get two of the following pitchers: Owen White, Brock Porter, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, along with outfielders Evan Carter and Dustin Harris, and second baseman Justin Foscue.
None are ready for the Majors, but White, Harris and Foscue are close. Carter could be ready next season. Rocker needs at least another year to recover from Tommy John surgery. But the deal requires five Top 30 Rangers prospects.
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