The most coveted man in baseball may become available sooner than thought. MLB reporter Jeff Passan dropped a bombshell about Shohei Ohtani Thursday morning, hinting at the two-way megastars exit from the Los Angeles Angels.
“If the Angels fall out of contention … [Shohei Ohtani] could be traded and he will definitely leave,” Passan said.
Though it would not shock anyone if the Angels let Ohtani hit free agency, trading him in the offseason would be a somewhat surprising move, but one that makes sense.
The Angels can trade three months of Ohtani for close to top dollar and still have a chance, albeit slim, to re-sign Ohtani for big money in the offseason. ‘Big money' is a bit of an understatement. Shohei Ohtani is going to be paid a minimum of $500 million dollars. It's almost a world-known fact that is what he is worth in today's game and market.
Ohtani is off to a blistering start to the season on both sides of the ball. He has a 0.86 ERA in four starts, while also slugging four home runs with a .281 batting average. The Angels are 9-9 after an extra-innings loss to the Yankees Wednesday night.
The trade package for Shohei Ohtani would be enormous. The Angels may lose a bit of leverage because Ohtani is only under contract for the rest of this season, but they should still get a huge haul for the best player in baseball.
Rarely does such a talent become available for virtually every team to have a shot at him. Let the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes begin.