The Los Angeles Angels have not made their position on the Ohtani trade clear as the trade deadline approaches at 7 a.m. ET on August 2.
General manager Perry Minassian said in mid-June, “I don’t think I need to explain it because of where we are right now. The question is, does it make sense to trade Ohtani when you’re in playoff contention? At the time, the Angels were bouncing back and forth between second and third place in the AL West and the second wild card.
온라인바카라But then the Angels lost three straight, four straight, and five straight to end the first half, dropping their winning percentage below .500. During the All-Star break, the issue of trading Ohtani came to the forefront. But in the second half, the Angels have been on an upward curve again. After a 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on 24 April, their second straight sweep, the Angels are 51-49, good for third place in the division and the sixth wild-card spot, and still within four games of the third-place Toronto Blue Jays.
However, the “position” that Minasian refers to remains elusive this late in the season. Making the playoffs remains a tall order for the Angels. Fangraphs gives the Angels a 13.6 per cent chance of making the playoffs. That’s close to impossible.
However, it would be rash to give up on the Angels with over 60 games to go and a win percentage in the high teens. This is why it’s hard for the Angels to make a public statement about trading Ohtani. Whether they make a trade or not will depend on the situation. However, internally, the Angels are ready to listen to trade offers from other teams. The “no trade” theory has long since been put to rest.
Ohtani is scheduled to pitch against Toronto on the 29th with one more day of rest than usual. USATODAYYonhap News
In related news, ESPN updated its 2023 MLB Trade Deadline Tracker on Friday with an update on Ohtani, writing, “With nine days left before the trade deadline, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Ohtani trade. The trade market was very quiet this past weekend, according to sources across the league. They say it’s hard to believe that owner Art Moreno will trade Ohtani at this point.
No other team has approached the Angels with trade talks. We don’t know if this means there were no contacts, or that the Angels ignored the offers, but there was no surface movement on a trade.
As ESPN notes, “But the Angels haven’t even publicly stated that Ohtani will stay. Because of this, other teams are preparing for the possibility that the Angels could put Ohtani on the market, and they should be ready to act. They have to be ready to act, because it takes a lot of effort to land a huge player.
Mike Trout talks to a trainer after injuring his hand while swinging in the eighth inning against San Diego on Thursday. USATODAYYonline
However, it’s looking less and less likely that the Angels will trade Ohtani. It’s worth noting that the Angels have been on a roll in the early part of the second half despite not having their full complement of power. This is due to the fact that their top two hitters, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, are on the disabled list. According to ESPN, “The Angels are staying alive in the playoff race without Trout and Rendon.
Trout was placed on the disabled list after suffering a fractured metacarpal bone in his left hand while swinging at a pitch against the San Diego Padres on 4 April, while Rendon suffered bruising and bleeding after being hit in the left shin by his own foul ball in San Diego on 5 April.
Trout could return as early as mid-August and Rendon in early August. This is after the trade deadline. The Angels have some positives to build on going forward. If the two return to fill the three and four spots, it could give Ohtani and the entire lineup a boost. They can’t afford to give up on the playoffs.