Updated Post – July 26, 21:10
Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated reports that the Angels have decided not to trade superstar Shohei Ohtani before he hits free agency.
The Angels are currently four games out of the second Wild Card after going 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Shohei Ohtani. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Original Post – July 14, 13:54
With the trade deadline just over two weeks away, speculation about who Shohei Ohtani might end up playing for come August continues to spread. Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, sources familiar with the situation say the Los Angeles Angels’ front office is listening to trade inquiries for Ohtani and not ruling out the possibility, but the price to trade him is expectedly high.
Sources say how the Angels perform during their upcoming homestand versus Houston and then New York could be a big tell of what the Angels might do. The club is 45-46, one game below .500 coming out of the All-Star break. Ohtani will get the ball for the Angels on Friday night. He is 7-4 this season with a 3.32 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 132 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings for the Angels. Offensively, Ohtani leads the majors in home runs (32), OPS (1.050), and OPS+ (182).
Following their three-game series against Houston, the Angels welcome the Yankees to town. They will face off Monday, July 17 through Wednesday, July 19. As Xavier Scruggs and Buster Olney discussed on ESPN’s Get UP on Thursday, the Yankees could be in on Ohtani and seem motivated and likely to attempt to make a move for Ohtani. A lot of eyes and ears will be on that series for signs of any movement between the two clubs.
The Japanese superstar becomes a free agent after the season.
