It’s starting to churn.
The Los Angeles Angels, who have maintained a “no way” stance on trading Shohei Ohtani, are beginning to see a shift in the organization.
MLB Network reporter John Paul Morosi tweeted on Friday (ET), “I’ve had several sources tell me this. The Angels front office will consider a trade for Ohtani if one comes in. They’re not ruling out a trade at the trade deadline, even if the asking price is very high.”
The Angels enter the second half of the season with a 45-46 record and a five-game winning percentage collapse. They are five games behind the AL wild-card tiebreaker Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays. They are seven games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers for the wild card. Fangraphs gives the Angels a 10.4% chance of making the playoffs.
That’s not to say that fall baseball is out of the question, but the odds are stacked against them. This summer’s trade deadline is Aug. 2.
“The upcoming homestand will be a big factor in the Angels’ ultimate move,” Morosi said, adding that “a lot of people in baseball don’t think a trade is likely at this point.”
The Angels have a nine-game homestand from April 15-24 against the Houston Astros, Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates. If the Angels’ chances of making the playoffs diminish further during that stretch, they will have no choice but to trade Ohtani.
The decision could be made during a series against the Detroit Tigers and Toronto from July 26-31.
In the end, it’s all about what owner Art Moreno wants. The general consensus is that Moreno will not want to part with Ohtani, who is likely to win the AL home run title and MVP this year. Also, you can’t ignore the income Ohtani brings in on and off the field.온라인카지노
New York Post columnist John Heyman recently wrote, “Last week we reported. The Angels’ no-sell stance has begun to change, and they will evaluate the situation over the next two to three weeks, meaning the Angels could at least consider trading Ohtani,” but “two people close to Moreno said they don’t believe Moreno will ultimately trade Ohtani,” according to the New York Post.
Based on the historical behavior of major league clubs, the Angels can’t realistically hold onto Ohtani without trading him. Even if they succeed in fall baseball this year, there will be repercussions if they keep Ohtani and miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years in 2014. It’s unlikely that Ohtani will re-sign with the Angels in free agency later this year anyway. All the Angels would get in return is a draft pick.
However, if the Angels make this trade, they’ll get a bunch of prospects and immediate big-league power. The rebuild could be complete in one fell swoop. This is why Moroshi called the price of the trade “extraordinary high”. Even compared to a year ago, Ohtani’s trade value is “extraordinarily high.