Shohei Ohtani. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Shohei Ohtani could be wearing another uniform sooner than everyone believed.

Jeff Passan spoke on ESPN’s Get Up television program Thursday morning and stated that Ohtani could be traded by the MLB trade deadline this season if the Angels fall out of postseason contention.

“If the Angels fall out of contention, and if it’s just more of the same as it’s been over the last five years that he’s been there, he could be traded, and he will definitely leave,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Ohtani’s name has headlined trade rumors. During the 2022 deadline, multiple teams asked about Ohtani’s availability after the Angels limped into the All-Star break with a 39-53 record. The Angels opted to keep Ohtani, with hopes of competing in his walk year.

The Angels had a busy offseason to ensure that Mike Trout and Ohtani would have help. They brought in Gio Urshela, Brandon Drury, Hunter Renfroe, and Tyler Anderson to bolster their roster to compete in a heavily talented American League West. However, while they are in second place in the AL West, the Angels have started the season 9-9.

As Passan said on Get Up, if the Angels fail to make the playoffs, Ohtani will “definitely” leave. The last time the Angels made the playoffs was 2014, when Ohtani was 20 years old, and Huston Street was still closing games. FanGraphs currently gives the Angels a 37.3% chance to make the playoffs, and before the season started, the Angels had a +155 odds to be in the postseason.

If the Angels fall out of postseason contention before the trade deadline in 2023, the race for Ohtani won’t be like anything we’ve ever seen. It’s extremely rare for a player of this caliber to exist, let alone be available on the trade market. Some of the best players to be traded include Tom Seaver, Ken Griffey Jr., Miguel Cabrera, and Juan Soto, but Ohtani may be better than all of them.

Passan also discussed what free agency would look like for Ohtani after the year. He stated that the starting price would be a record-setting $500 million, with the Mets and Dodgers likely to be the biggest bidders. Other teams that were specifically named included the Mariners, Giants, and Yankees.