Friday’s 8-5 victory over the Pirates extended the Angels’ winning streak to four games, and improved Anaheim’s record to 50-48. The Angels sit eight games back of the first-place Rangers in the AL West, but more importantly four games back of the Blue Jays for the final AL wild card slot. The Red Sox and Yankees sit between the Jays and Angels in the standings, and the Mariners and Guardians aren’t far behind Anaheim, but there’s no doubt that the Halos are at least in the mix to end their playoff drought.
If Los Angeles can retain this general position in the standings until the August 1 trade deadline, it would in all likelihood close the door on the possibility of a Shohei Ohtani trade. Reports last week (when the Angels were still mired in a brutal slump) indicated that the club was at least open to hearing what other teams might offer for Ohtani, yet a trade was still considered improbable even if the Angels did fall out of the race. Getting on track and getting back over the .500 mark only makes it more likely that the Angels will still have Ohtani in their clubhouse by August 2.
As for the man himself, Ohtani told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and other reporters yesterday that “I’m just trying to focus on the season and sort of block everything else out. Like I said earlier, I feel like we’re in a decent spot to make a playoff run, and that’s all I’m really focused on at the moment.”
This focus extends to both the constant trade speculation and the broader concept over Ohtani’s future in Anaheim, as he said that “I’ve never really had a sit-down talk like that” in regards to discussing a contract extension beyond the 2023 season. Ohtani also noted that he has “never really” heard from the Angels whether or not they definitively won’t trade him, saying “I see [GM Perry Minasian] maybe once a week in the clubhouse, and we’ve never really had any conversations.”
Mid-year extension talks are relatively rare for any major free agent — most players don’t want any distractions during the season, and by this close proximity to the offseason, players are generally eager to at least test the open market. In Ohtani’s particular case, it makes sense that he would want to hear what other teams have to offer, given how it is widely assumed that the two-way star’s next deal will be the largest contract in baseball history. The Angels’ apparent lack of private clarity on Ohtani’s trade status also isn’t really unusual, if the club is still gauging the trade market and waiting on the next week’s worth of games before deciding whether or not an Ohtani trade is even something they’d be interested in pursuing.
Ohtani allowed five runs over 6 1/3 innings Friday, as four of Pittsburgh’s six hits left the park for home runs. Despite the uninspiring numbers, Ohtani still earned the win thanks to a strong game from Anaheim’s lineup, and he contributed to the offense by going 0-for-1 with three walks and two runs scored.
Ohtani is now hitting .305/.400/.676 with 35 homers over 432 plate appearances, while also contributing a 3.71 ERA, 32.2% strikeout rate, and 10.2% walk rate over 111 2/3 innings on the mound. Health is another wrinkle in any possible trade talks, as Ohtani has been recently bothered by a blister and cracked nail on his right middle finger. This injury seems to be impacting his work on the mound, as Ohtani has a 7.71 ERA over his last 16 1/3 innings and three starts.
Sticking with some other Angels health news, Mike Trout’s status is also a huge factor for the Halos’ chances of reaching the postseason, as the star outfielder hasn’t played since July 3 due to a left hamate fracture. Trout underwent surgery and was given a recovery timeline of 4-8 weeks, but Trout told reporters (including Luca Evans of the Los Angeles Times) that he had his stitches removed. Trout is starting to engage in such baseball activities as throwing and mobility-related exercises, but it isn’t yet known when his hand will feel good enough to start swinging a bat.
The Angels won’t trade Ohtani. They’ll miss the playoffs. We’ll all suffer because our favorite ultra star wont play meaningful October baseball because he’ll be stuck on the suckville Angels.
They are NOT going to leapfrog the other teams ahead of them with all those injuries. Instead of waiting for the inevitable, trade him for a handful of good prospects and young players close to the majors (i.e. Texas, SF, Dodgers) who address needs and then jump in the mix to resign him in the offseason if they really want to keep him. Show the fans and him you can be creative and build a eam that can win in the long term around him. Add to the mix of vets and good young players (O’Hoppe, Detmers, Neto). They won’t though.
What if those teams don’t offer what the public expects for two months of Ohtani? Also, Angels have already said he will not be traded to the LAD, and I would think they wouldn’t want to trade in division, so TX, HOU, and SEA are likely out.
Also he brings in a lot Japanese fans/media to the games it makes more sense to keep him, plus gives you a chance to resign him. He might be able to get you two top 100 prospects not sure if it’s worth it.
No reason you wouldn’t trade him in the division for a 2 month rental lol. It’s not like he will sign long term with Hou or Tex, so trade him to one of those if they give enough. Since he’s a 2 month rental, they can trade him wherever they want. Really it’s better trading him in the division bc the pieces coming back will haunt those teams in the division later on. Use your brain
Problem is I’m using my brain, how did Boston trading betts work out for them. Is it worth them having no chance of resigning him, because they traded him for prospects that might not pan out. Also saying if he’s selling tickets, and they have a chance in the playoffs it doesn’t make sense to move him. Keep in mind he chose to sign with angels for a reason.
He signed with the Angels because the Dodgers didn’t have the DH.
If the Angels make a deep playoff run, I think the Angels sign him. If not, the heavy favorite are the Dodgers.
Arte will pay him whatever he wants, this isn’t about the money.
That could be a reason, he had a list of demands coming in. Maybe the dodgers couldn’t guarantee him a roster spot. Agree it could be different this time around I just don’t know if the going to the playoffs narrative really matters to him, and he’s getting paid regardless on where he chooses.
Such a small-minded owner in Arte Moreno. He can privately know that he will eventually reject the Dodgers package, but to let that be known is dereliction of duty. In reality, if the Dodgers package is the best, take it. Keeping the Dodgers who have a deep system in the trade mix could only help drive up the price for Othani. This is one of the most unbelievable aspect of the situation.
If the Angels were to trade Ohtani and the Dodgers offered the best package, he’d trade him to the Dodgers. But unless the Angels start losing again, he’s not going to trade him.
Arte never said that. This is media speculation. Arte hasn’t talked with the media since the end of Spring Training.
One of the more unbelievable aspects of the situation is the widespread assumption that Moreno wouldn’t complete a trade with the Dodgers if it resulted in his best return. Why anyone thinks this, I have no idea.
🙁
Sorry, I meant to comment to Conin above you!!
@Halo he sis not sign with Angels because of DH. As a 2 way player in Japan he played OF. He even has mentioned he’d like to play OF. I don’t think any MLB team will allow him to do so regularly tho. Especially after the contract he’s going to get.
Haha “woke views!” I love it!
depends on the 2- i could see the Os offer Norby and Ortiz (both top 75 most places) and get some guys drafted in the mid rounds last year (future value 40-45 types) to see if another one pops…. guys like Wander Urena, Ryan Costeiu, Arol Vera (he may have signed as an internatioal prospect for too much to be under the radar enough), and Mason Albight…. there are a bunch of others- i just went through a random top 30 list and pulled out the guys who would make sens on the way back.
Conin – Fine, whatevs. Keep your wokeness. I bet Ed Royce wouldn’t be too happy with you.
They took a solid return- one starting OF for several years, and a high upside SS prospect that never panned out. The trade looks better if they do not force the issue and end up with Downs..
Boston just has a history of trading away future HoF for way too little… not just Ruth, but Bagwell is another prime example.
Haha Ed Royce? What?!!
he needs a team willing to pay insane money and build their entire roster around him.
He has to DH- so that limits how you operate your off days. there are not that many 100% DH players, most teams rotate players for semi off days in the slot (and for rehab like Harper has been doing this year).
He forces a 6 man rotation. That means that other SP may not want to play there since it means they will get less starts/innings so they will likely get less money in their next deal- they will also learn an odd schedule for when they leave.
Why don’t you define woke for us?
I’m guessing it’s something like I disagree with you, but I only know buzzwords, so woke it is.
It’s all about the $$$$$$ and that’s why Artie won’t pay him. He is too stupid to see what having Ohtani on the team does for business.
Njbjrd, I just found out that was my non-baseball fan wife playing a joke on me. She even mentioned my former boss. Well done, H! I’m still laughing.
If it was me I’d ask for the house and settle for custody of the dog.
You’re 100% wrong. If you think this is about money, you don’t know Ohtani.
Research the circumstances why he came over to MLB. After you do, you’ll have a clue.
Thinking and comprehension skills probably aren’t their bag, just a guess.
All about the money??? There were 7 finalists (SF, CHC, LAD, SEA, TEX, SD & LAA) for Ohtani when he signed for $2.315M with LAA (not inc. $20M posting fee to Japan). He was courted by just about every MLB team that thought had a shot at him (ATL didn’t have any international slot money because of sanctions from “Coppygate” and was not an option).
NL teams didn’t have a DH back then so cut 1/2 the teams out. Including the Dodgers.
Ah, that’s a good point. Then what were the supposed finalists of SD, CHC, LAD possibly going to do? Make him choose or play the field?
Political buzz words don’t help the conversation either.
Conin – I used to intern for Ed Royce.
Let’s compare your portfolio to Arte’s. Being that he is so stupid I would think yours is far better than his.
OK Marty McFly with your sports almanac and DeLorean time machine, please tell us what the Angels record will be at the end of the year and where he will end up next season.
The Angels will finish around 500 this season, and Ohtani will commit to signing with the Giants next year, only to have a doctor find out he fell off the swing set when he was 5 and skinned his knee and this the deal is nixed. He then signs with the Dodgers for 10/550.
I’m sure he’ll enjoy downtown walks in San Francisco.
The Dodgers are the most likely candidate.
Yankees are the most logical choice. The largest media market on the grandest stage on NY
For a trade, I agree, the Yankees are the best landing spot.
Better than those walks in LA. As Terri once Nobody is walking in LA.
He apparently only wants to play in Cali
Deferred with no interest until 2078.
Nobody is walking in LA, but you use to be able to walk in SF.
And a heap of Giants fans will throw in the towel and wail like a baby on the internet. Again.
i just find it funny how easily people believe everything they see on TV as the truth and not bias. Go back east or midwest and you are warned about not hanging around the stadium. Every city has a bad area even the small cities.
or signs with the Rangers/yankees for hundreds of millions- and the injury rears its ugly head and he never is the same player after the first few months.
Do those teams even bother with physicals.
Arc, true. But the degradation of the great city of San Francisco is not an exaggeration. It went from a fantastic place to just another bad city.
Yeah, pretty easy to assume they will be mediocre because that’s basically what they’ve been this entire era.
They have been South of mediocre for a long time. The only team constant in that sub mediocre stretch is that year in and year out, they have a horrible bullpen.
If they could bring in a GM that could fix the pen, they might end up North of mediocre. But Perry sucks at it, and so did every other Angel GM who came after Stoneman,
You always criticize the bullpen but do you know they’re 9th in all of MLB in ERA? It’s not horrible.
Who gives a leap about bullpen ERA. It excludes a ton of different things, if you think this bullpen is anything but awful, you haven’t been paying attention.
Twenty second in WPA. And that is in spite of Estevez’s great who is 8th in baseball in WPA. So when they come in in close games, or men on base, or with the game in the balance….they suck.
Every Angel fan knows it. So you either are spinning or are oblivious.
Halo11fan, personal attacks take away from your argument. Bullpen ERA is a key metric for evaluating bullpens. All you do is cry on here over and over about their bullpen but the data concludes otherwise. They are better than average.
What personal attack? Every Angel fan knows it. Everything else is just spin.
That’s not a personal attack. The Angel pen stinks. That’s not remotely debatable.
Are you spinning or oblivious?
So, as you should recognize, it is not the GM. Perry had to argue with Arte to refrain from spending his money on overpriced shortstops and spread the money around thereby creating a deeper team. Carlos Estévez, Matt Moore, Hunter Renfroe, Brandon Drury, and don’t forget Logan O’Hoppe and Mickey Moniak. Plus, Perry’s aggressive promotion of double-A players. Yes, the Anderson deal so far has gone south, but this team and its problems are on the back of one Arte Moreno.
Trojan, for now I want to keep this simple and talk about the pen. I heard
Who in their right mind locks down bullpen spots with Claudio an Guerra year one? That wasn’t Arte.. it was Perry.
The next year Perry spent a fortune on the pen, and everyone sucked.
This year we went into the year with an obviously bad pen. And if Estevez didn’t pitch out of his mind, this might have been the worst pen in baseball instead of one of the worst.
We have a bad pen. I don’t know why fans want to spin this and give Perry another pass.
Halo . As you know I agree with Trojan’s opinion on it being Moreno’s fault. You keep repeating the “Claudio and Guerra” example as Mnasian’s fault in support. How do you know those signings were minasian independent of any influence but Moreno?
I really hope everything works out for the Halos and Ohtani, and their able to sign him long-term.
He’s gone. No talks to date says it all. Unless Moreno bumps up the payroll he, and fans, won’t want one player talking up that higher percentage of it. Unfortunately, the highest paid player ever really is reserved for the very top payrolls in MLB.
That’s too bad for them. What can’t he do?
Captain-Judge99;
Be a starting pitcher in more than one game every 5-6 days, bat more often then once every 9 batters, and play in the field.
Make sure you QO him.
angels should include trout and rendon into any trade, even if they can only get a bag of balls
Nope wrong. Trout is an angel for life. Bo trade clause. Wants to play for one Team his whole career. Rendon has no trade clause. Here on 7 year contract. Keep dreaming
Rendon may waive- he is not well liked there since he is only seen as a bad signing….Fresh start in a new city- but the angels are either giving away prospects or paying most of his salary to move him.
Ohtani and Rendon for a single top 100 prospect makes sense for teams who do not care about money.
Attaching Rendon to Ohtani seems like such a wasted opportunity to improve the farm system.
Of course, with the Angels getting to two games over .500, the odds of Ohtani being traded are dropping.
Why, so Moreno has more money? That would be a horrible waste of two of the game’s top talents.
That’s just stupid. You are basically trade Ohtani for salary relief and then blow the salary on more free agents.
I have no idea how anyone can have that opinion.
C’mon, be civil. They have an opinion and should feel comfortable expressing it.
Are you new to the message boards? Anyone can express an opinion, but that opens them up to potential criticism.
Criticism is different than not being civil. Halo11Fan is usually civil and I respect their views. But we shouldn’t be calling someone’s views “stupid.” This message board is usually civil and the site works well because of that.
This seems like such a woke comment. I come here to be myself, not have to worry about censoring my thoughts. You seem ratty.
What is woke about not liking that someone’s comment is called stupid? How about treating people with common decency? Or is that too uncommon and woke?
GBS42 – Conin was trying to police that person’s tone and words. Everyone should be able to share their opinions freely without worrying about some work leftist censoring them.
Calling that “woke leftist censoring” says a lot about you.
Really well said, gbs42.
Haha gbs, we got pranked. I just found out Baseballnerd 4 is my non-baseball fan wife playing a joke. Well done, H! That was good.
“0 chance of signing long term” is inaccurate. He’s going to sign somewhere, so any random team could be said to have a 3% chance to sign him. And the teams that have the prospects to trade for him are largely the same teams with the money to sign him, so that percentage is probably 10% or higher.
It’s just that he’s going to test free agency, not sign an extension first, as most players do.
So the East Coast teams don’t trade for him. That would increase the odds for the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners even more.
Nice article, yet please stop calling the team “Anaheim.” They have been the “Los Angeles Angels” since 2016. 🙂
I think it’s a subtle dig at the team’s apparent lack of geography knowledge. They don’t play in Los Angeles, not even in the same county. It’s sort of like the New York Jets and Giants, who play their home games in New Jersey.
It’s the same LA market. I live in LA county and Angel stadium is a lot closer to me than Chavez Ravine.
I lived ten minutes from Chavez Ravine. That’s where I first watched the Angels play.
I have never lived in Orange County and am a lifelong Angel fan.
Just saying.
Sorry!
You could live in, say, Long Beach and be closer to Anaheim than to downtown LA, but that doesn’t relocate Anaheim to LA County. The Angels including Los Angeles in their name is all about marketing but it’s still geographically challenged.
Angels are just claiming their birth city like so many other do.
The Braves and A’s definitely need to do this too. And the Giants and Dodgers while we’re at it. Just think of how many teams could be named for cities where they are no longer located.
New Jersey Jets, New Jersey Giants, Inglewood Chargers, Inglewood Rams, Santa Clara 49ers, Arlington Cowboys, Landover Commanders, Glendale Cardinals…
Anaheim Rams
… and they were originally the Los Angeles Angels… changing the name back to LAA was an excellent “retro” move.
When they played in (drumroll please) …. Los Angeles!
It’s all about the media market, not nostalgia. Arte Moreno is about as sentimental as my Uncle Ed, and I don’t even have an Uncle Ed.
I mean what else is he supposed to say? He’s not going to trash talk the organization for its failings, and all he can do is help the team contend.
The Crash Davis school of interviews.
The only thing missing is the obligatory one game at a time.
Why would anyone give anything other than a Crash Davis interview? Reporters are not these guys friends, and if they ever say what’s on their mind, someone will rip them.
Not digging at him. I respect it.
The Angels are now unlikely to trade Ohtani. That’s five out of six, would have been a six game winning streak if Nevin didn’t constantly make the same bullpen mistakes.
As long as they have a shot, Ohtani stays.
Not sure if they can close the gap on the east, but getting rid of wise, and nevin might get ohtani to re sign.
I doubt they can. They have a softer September schedule, but as long as there is a reasonable chance the Angels are not trading Ohtan.
A four game win streak, tiebreaker wins against the Red Sox and Yankees, with a tie breaker up in the air against the Jays, will give them enough of a chance to keep Ohtani.
He will not be traded
He is the face of the Angels
End of story
Not for long he is
Who has the prospects to get this done?
Orioles do, but he would cost a fortune
Orioles fans don’t seem to appreciate winning. And I don’t think he would sign there if for no other reason the Orioles won’t pay up. Last years big acquisition was Kyle Gibson.
The Giants. They can afford what it would take to trade for him and then sign him in the offseason. That’s a team that cares about winning and will do what it takes to win. They went after Judge last year instead signed a bunch of guys short term. They are ready to pay him and he’s a great fit geographically.
Giants are good, but not good enough for the World Series
Maybe, the D’Backs do something, but I bet the Angels hold onto Ohtani despite peer pressure
They would be with Ohtani.
You don’t know that
I don’t know if I will wake up tomorrow. But you play to win. Again I don’t think you understand that.
@King of, how should they have signed last off season and at what position? They had all 3 OFs, C, 1B, SS and 3B of the future were on verge of MLB(Henderson has since arrived). The 2B FA market was abysmal
They ve exceeded what were already high expectations this season. So going in splurging on a multi year deal for a big name starter would ve seemed ill advised. Also seems to have been right choice seeing as how they re playing.
How does the GM not make an effort to develop a relationship with Ohtani ? That might be the common FO MO in the game, but it just seems weird to me. The man is key to your success.
I didn’t read it like that. It didn’t say they don’t have a relationship, just they haven’t talked about an extension or trade when Minasian’s in the clubhouse once a week.
Fair point. I might have taken “we’ve never really had any conversations” too literally.
Yeah, good point, I hope it isn’t that!
Minasian is a tool. Ran Joe Maddon out. He’s another Angels GM that’s clueless; look at the lineage under Moreno- Reagins,DiPoto,Eppler now Minasian.
why? because he’s taking all the time he has available to him to make the most important decision a baseball team has made in how long??
Ohtani will not be traded. Period.There are no teams that desperate to make the post season to trade away their top tier talent for 2 months of Ohtani. Won’t happen. Angels best move is to resign Ohtani so that Moreno can sell the team to new owners that have a clue how to run an MLB team.
brooklyn62;
Love your comments. But disagree here…..
Am already overdosed on “Othani! Othani! Othani!”
He may be the best player in baseball. So?
Unlike basketball (a scorer or dominating defensive player), football (QB), it’s not possible to build a team around one player and be a contender. If it was the Angels would have been one the past 5 1/2 years.
This guy is going to get $50m a year (at least) long term. As a fan attraction, he’s worth that. But as a player, the money can be better spent elsewhere.
Babe Ruth could both pitch and hit – but seldom at the same time. He changed the sport of professional baseball by hitting HR’s as the sport came out of the dead ball era – and was a sensation around the country not just because he hit epic and long/majestic HR’s – something never seen before – but as a brash, larger than life presence. Some one that was a hero of both the Jazz Age and the Depression years. His play inspired his teammates for years into becoming some of the best MLB teams ever. Babe was larger than life.
Othani is a remarkably skilled baseball player and nice guy that has come to America and not done any of those things. He’s not leading MLB in BA, OBP, OPS, HR’s, hits, etc, or competing for the Cy Young award each year.
Thanks for the love. After consulting the bones, tea leaves and tarot cards, my fearless prediction…Ohtani 8 years $440 million. Either resigns with the Angels or wears Dodger blue.
If the team is not 6 games over 500 next Saturday trade him. Quietly start negotiating with him on a 10 year 550 deal plus 3 percent ownership at the end of the deal. Think Yankees and Chapman.
Trade him to either Tex or TB, as he likely would not be interested in resigning with them. Sell him on the trade as a way to beef up the roster for when he resigns.
Six game? Oh brother? Urnuts..
It would mean going 5-1 vs Pitt , Det, and 1 game vs Tor. Too many good teams in front of them. We all are nuts to think the Angels will make the playoffs without going on a roll now. It will only get harder.
No matter where we finish Artie and Nevin need to go!
And if they go 4-2, they should trade Ohtani.
Are they capable of going 5-1. Of course, but for the most part you are saying if they lose the first game to the Jays, unless the Angels have a ten game winning streak, they should trade Ohtani.
That’s nuts.
Yes i’m nuts. It is how I survived being an Angels fan for 55 years.
They need to go on a roll because after these next 5 games it gets tougher.
That is a great point.
It does get tougher in August, and gets easier in September
Tell me something. As a Pirates fan, it seems to me that the Angels play in one of the country’s most beautiful areas. They have a nice ballpark. They have two of the best players in the game and other good players
My question: is the owner as stingy as the Pirates owner?
You’d think the best route is to surround Ohtani and Trout with top tier talent, and that it wouldn’t be difficult if you’re willing to spend
The issue is not the $ spent on payroll but Artie getting in the way of the baseball operations and $ spent on international development. ( Latin America)
Arte annually has a top 10 payroll so he isn’t stingy. The main problems have been massively underperforming contracts for 15 years (Rendon, Pujols, Hamilton, Upton, Wells, Matthews, Jr.) and a substandard farm system for at least 15 years that has mostly produced role players and relief pitchers. The exception was the Trout draft.
Marketing drives Moreno’s decisions. I know for a fact that Dipoto warned him about signing Hamilton and thought he was understood. Then was shocked when Arte signed him.
Don’t you recall that those were the days when they had superior pitching and no hitting? Arte told the fans after the season he was going to help and bring in a big hitter. That was his motivation for Hamilton and Pujols. Did they not work out? No. But his motivation was in the right place. Marketing sure, but Arte saw a terrible offense that needed fixing.
Not sure, but don’t think you can make that kind of side deal with a player prior to trading him to an unknowing team that expends player assets to get him…..I would think the MLB association would take a dim view of that kind of transitionary collusion between the Angels and Ohtani…..
Yes if they agree now, but this would be opening negotiations, which is allowed. There is no deal until he signs, which would be after the team he is traded to has exclusive time to make a better deal. This is why I suggest trade to a team he likely would not resign.
This is just a crazy suggestion but it has happen in the past. Chapman, Ricky Henderson were traded and the following season resigned with original team.
Why would he start negotiating right now when he’s risked it going this far already? He’s months away from being able to leverage teams against one and other.
Even of he were willing to negotiate now, he’d surely b asking for a 100% no trade clause. Again he’s not risked it this far to let other teams dictate his fate as far as where he plays.
There are a lot of GMs that have ran Maddon out. Nevin is a horrible manager and that was obvious last year.
The only good thing about losing Ohtaninis that Nevin and Perry will both be gone. The best thing about keeping Ohtani is Moreno might get his price and actually sell the team.
I can’t see teams unloading their farm system for a few months of Ohtani when they can sign him in the offseason. That is, unless they can guarantee he signs immediately after the trade.
You get a much better chance to win in 2023 and you get a chance for him to see what your team is like which good give you the edge in signing him as a free agent.
The Giants are 2 games back in the division last time I checked. He definitely could be the piece that helps them win it which means first round bye instead of wild card. They tried to sign Judge last year so they are ready for a big contract. And geographically it makes lots of sense.
True. But they have also invested heavily during the Zaidi era in player development. Staff, tech and infrastructure. The view from the outside is that rings are won via sustained success. ie reaching the playoffs every year and waiting for the stars to align for you. Sustained success comes from developing a rock solid young player pipeline. Essentially developing yourself out of the boom bust cycle mindset of yesteryear. I think that’s the Giants focus. I just can’t see them trading away their initial work in that area.
Getting a superstar free agent to lead, appease the superstar coveting fan base, and build around ? Absolutely see them trying to make that happen. Again….
What do you think they would have to trade away????
Make a good offer. Watch the Angels blink because they know they have to trade him regardless of what thet say publicly.
Nobody is trading the farm for him. Just make a good offer.
Too much seems to be the general consensus. As in they aren’t trading him unless they are overwhelmed.
Old York.
Unless Ohtani goes somewhere else and loves it, Ohrani is likely going to the Dodgers. They are trading for 2023, and two months to sell Ohtani on a city.
I’m an avid Samson listener. Gives a great insight into FO thinking. He tells me the trading for someone in the hope they like it and sign long term is “horse hockey”. No advantage. It’s not a thing.
two top 100 prospects and another player outside of that would get it done. that is not unloading a farm system.
Angels missed a crucial opportunity in not landing Gerrit Cole a few years back – significant mistake. Angels are a frustrating franchise and here’s hoping they trade Ohtani.
It wasn’t a mistake, Moreno made him a really good offer but he wanted NY and the Yankees overpaid. Moreno tried.
Conin – it’s absolutely a mistake. The Angels did not do what it took to sign Cole and that’s a mistake. Get it done, “tried” is irrelevant.
Cole signed an over-market 9-year, $324 million contract to play with his preferred team. Arte came in 2nd with a highly competitive offer. Do you own a Lamborghini? Because you need to do what it takes to buy one. “Tried” is irrelevant.
Conin – Moreno should have done whatever it took to keep him. Under him, the team has lost key players that would have made them much more competitive. Best outcome is keeping Ohtani to make the team more marketable…and then selling it.
At this year’s payroll Ohtani consumes 13% of it. Assuming it stays the same and Ohtani makes $50 mil next year that’s 21%. That’s a lot banked on 1 player and it appears Moreno doesn’t want this, which is plausible from both a business and baseball perspective.
Keeping Ohtani increases the team’s value and maintains the talent and excitement Ohtani brings to the team. If you were less woke, you would see that Ohtani has to stay.
Conin – Arte didn’t get the job done. “Tried” should be the Angels motto. Arte had no trouble over-bidding on Pujols, Rendon, Hamilton, etc. “Tried” – that’s adorable.
Moreno has done a terrible job of holding into key players. I wish he would sell to someone who would put the money and effort into building a solid team.
Why is every rebuked offer to an accomplished ACE like Cole, as compared to a successful offer, referred to as “overpaid”…….he was Yankee fan growing up, and found a way to accomplish his dream of not only playing for them, but extracting a salary that he felt was fair for the tools he was bringing to the team…..obviously he saw what other players have seen which is the Angels just can’t really compete in the West…….even with Trout and Ohtani……Cole wanted the spotlight of the playoffs which is what the Yankees (possibly until this year) have been able to offer him…..
It is a massive overpay because at $36 mil/year that contract is going to likely underperform in the later years. The Angels’ bid was so competitive adding the additional few years was what the Yankees felt was necessary to land him.
First 3 years of contract he’s finished top 10 in Cy Young voting every season, top 4 in 2 of them. He’s having another excellent season this year. If he keep pitching like he has for another 2 or 3 seasons his production the last few seasons of contract will b irrelevant. And the thought of him pitching well or even excellent at age 37 is in no way outlandish.
So the notion that it was an overpay just has not jived whatsoever to date. Especially considering the AAV top of rotation arms were signing for last off season. In comparison his contract is actually a bargain and not an overpay.
“I really like the team. I love the fans. I love the atmosphere of the team. But, more than that, I want to win. That’s the biggest thing for me. I’ll leave it at that.”
Tip of the cap to Ohtani for his kindness and diplomacy throughout his losing tenure with the Anaheim Angels. Even when the writing has been on the wall for several years will Arte again make another wrong decision for a few more million bucks, a few more Ohtani starts/bombs and a draft pick?
Just change the name back to Anaheim. Nobody here really considers them an LA team, anyways. The traffic is much lighter.
LA Angels is their original franchise name. They were founded in Los Angeles. They play in the LA market. As a lifelong fan of the team, they will never be “Anaheim Angels” to me… that name change came in 1997 during the Disney years. I hated it then, and I hate it now. They are either the LA or CA Angels.
Would you like a tissue?
You want some leaves to wipe your behind?
As long as Ohtani has a chance of breaking a hallowed home run record held by a Yankee no way will Moreno pass that up. He has a special vindictiveness for the Mets, Padres, Yanks cause they’re outspending him and making him look cheap.
And other teams must be wondering what’s really going on w Ohtani’s finger and all the homers despite the Angels saying all is well.
If Ohtani is concentrating on the playoffs then he should probably ask to get traded to a playoff team, because he does not play on one now.
Arte will show the world that he’s the boss by ignoring common sense and screwing up the team’s future even further. Nobody can tell him what he should do! Nobody backs Arte into a corner!