ANAHEIM, Calif. – I have trouble deciding what to have for lunch, so, no, I don’t envy the Angels’ predicament.
They’re in a big league pickle. Wedged in a between a hard-foul-off-the-foot-and-a-collision-at-the-plate dilemma: To trade Shohei, or not to trade Shohei?
The heart says no. The head says … no.
It’s not happening, anyway. Shohei Ohtani isn’t getting dealt. Not as long as these Angels are within spitting distance of a postseason appearance, and with stretches like this one – six victories in seven games with Sunday’s 9-4 verdict at home against Seattle – confidence is growing that they will be.
And if no blockbuster deal has transpired so far for the transcendent talent – not at last year’s trade deadline, not in all the time since – none is going to now.
It shouldn’t, there’s no two ways about it.
Not because Angels fans are attached to the two-way phenom, and there’s no doubt he’s captured their hearts since he signed on in 2018. There were about as many Ohtani jerseys sprinkled throughout the Angel Stadium stands during Sunday’s game against Seattle as No. 27s – and the first 15,000 kids in attendance all got complimentary Mike Trout replica jersey tops.
When fans applauded and high-fived Ohtani’s three singles Sunday, it was as if they were congratulating themselves; they’d seen a unicorn, something to tell the grandkids about.
So, no, the Angels shouldn’t ship the 28-year-old Ohtani anywhere – but not because of those fans’ feelings, or any nostalgic residue related to what he’s accomplished in an Angels uniform.
All the history attached to his 2021 American League MVP season, or his mind-bending accomplishments last season, when he had probably the best two-way season since Babe Ruth?
Stupendous. But it probably won’t affect his decisions in free agency, when he’ll likely command a contract worth more than $500 million. Even if the Angels are hoping against hope that Ohtani will decide he’s comfortable re-signing with a team that hasn’t had a winning record since 2015 so long as it caters to all his wishes.
It isn’t as though spurning teams’ offers for him now won’t keep him from accepting one of those suitor’s overtures later.
So, what then? Just lose Ohtani in free agency for nothing?
No, not for nothing.
For now, this very season. Live for the moment a little.
The Angels should hold onto him now so they can turn around their misfortunes, change the narrative after the past two seasons when, despite Ohtani’s greatness, they were out of contention at the All-Star break.
So they can give themselves the best shot at their first postseason appearance since 2014.
It’s doable: Short of winning the AL West, they now also have three wild-card spots to chase. And at 36-31, they’re in the mix. Sunday’s victory kept the Angels within 1½ games of the Houston Astros for the final wild-card slot.
Ohtani – who, as the Angels’ No. 1 pitcher, also has a team-best 18 home runs and 46 RBIs – will only help a team chasing a goal like that.
That’s why potential offers for even two months of his services figures only to get sweeter as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches. Those overtures might not be what they once were, but they could prove enticing enough if they come from a team that thinks it has a real shot at winning the World Series. Think, say, of the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the Angels, who’ve been mired in mediocrity for so many years, a wild-card berth is their World Series.
And trading Ohtani – even if it were for a haul of young players that could benefit General Manager Perry Minasian’s steady, methodical reroute – would be like a football team punting on fourth and a few, with a victory within reach and Marcus Allen in the backfield.
Even as a rental, Ohtani is as bankable a get-you-over-the-hump guy as exists – for anyone, including the Angels.
No return would be nearly as reliable, as Southern California News Group’s always tuned-in baseball writer J.P. Hoornstra reminded me: Recall, in 2018, when the Dodgers acquired superstar infielder Manny Machado in exchange for a quintet of highly regarded prospects?
The Dodgers, who had lost Corey Seager to season-ending surgery, got two regular-season months out of Machado, who then helped the Dodgers get back to the World Series.
The Baltimore Orioles got prospects Yusniel Diaz, Rylan Bannon, Dean Kremer, Breyvic Valera and Zach Pop. No one whose name pops off the page, huh?
The Angels would have a hard time stomaching seeing Ohtani leave in free agency, but Manager Phil Nevin’s club isn’t satisfied finishing this season on the outside looking in again, and the organization isn’t craving a rebuild. And Ohtani isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; it wouldn’t make sense.
