Much has been made in recent days about the possibility of the Los Angeles Angels trading Shohei Ohtani before the August 1 deadline.
They are 47-48 and in fourth place of the AL West division, so their playoff hopes are slim at best.
There is a chance, though, which puts them in a very difficult spot.
On one hand, they could lose Ohtani for nothing when free agency starts after the World Series and still not make the playoffs, just like it has happened during his entire Angels tenure since 2018.
On the other hand, the Angels probably don’t want to be the team that traded a generational talent, perhaps the best player in the history of the game.
Los Angeles could get a very, very nice package of prospects and assets for the Japanese star if they decide to go that route.
They don’t seem inclined to do so, though.
“Phil Nevin on Ohtani: ‘He wants to win. And he wants to win here,’” Angels insider Jeff Fletcher tweeted while quoting the team’s skipper.
Phil Nevin on Ohtani: “He wants to win. And he wants to win here.”
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 18, 2023
On Monday, the Angels won an improbable game thanks to a home run by Ohtani that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning.
It was a majestic drive to straightaway center field, one that Gold Glover Harrison Bader couldn’t catch.
LA ended up winning the game in the 10th inning with a walk-off single.
There is a lot of work to be done, but the Angels finding their way back to contention is a plausible scenario.
They will have to rely heavily on Ohtani and, of course, keep him for the remainder of the season.
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