It is rare that baseball is talked about on First Take, but with the presence of Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, and the injury to Mike Trout, the topic of the Los Angeles Angels trading Shohei Ohtani ahead of the MLB trade deadline came up, and Stephen A. Smith had a surprising response to the question.

“This is the modern day Babe Ruth, there is no one even close,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take. “And Babe Ruth was traded. But not him? Since who? When? You got to move him. You can't let him walk for nothing! The man is 7-4 with a 3.36 ERA in his 17 starts this year, he's smacked about 31 home runs this year. The dude is the closest thing to Babe Ruth that we have arguably ever seen!”

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The Angels have been in the playoff hunt, but have slipped a bit, and Mike Trout's injury is a huge blow. It leads many to believe that the Angels will not be able to make the playoffs this season, something they were trying to do so they could attempt to convince Shohei Ohtani to stay in free agency.

Clearly, Stephen A. Smith believes that Ohtani should be traded. Judging by the context, it appears that Chris Russo does not believe that. It will be an interesting dilemma for the Angels. The next couple of weeks could be a deciding factor in what happens at the trade deadline.

After the season is over, Ohtani looms as the biggest free agent, and by all indications, he should get the biggest contract in MLB history.