Ken Rosenthal Discusses Shohei Ohtani’s Deadline Status
The question on everybody’s minds at this year’s trade deadline is whether or not the Los Angeles Angels will be trading two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2023 season and is expected to garner a massive paycheck from whichever team signs him.
Most around the baseball world are not expecting the Halos to retain him in free agency.
This has led many to speculate that he may be traded at the deadline.
However, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic doesn’t think so, and he reiterated as much on the MLB podcast “Fair Territory.”
Fair Territory!
*Ohtani: To trade or not to trade
*The annual plague of All-Star withdrawals
*Why Elly needs to be in Seattle
*The draft
*Dude and dork
*Your questions
*More
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— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 10, 2023
Rosenthal reiterated that he does not envision the Angels trading Ohtani.
He noted that fans of every team but the Angels are hoping to see a blockbuster trade involving the two-way star and that it’s the talk of the town at the All-Star festivities in Seattle.
Rosenthal then stated that he thinks it would be a “major upset” if the Halos do end up moving Ohtani at the trade deadline.
This alone should be enough to convince most fans that the Angels are not going to be trading Ohtani at the deadline and that he will remain in Angel for the rest of the 2023 season.
The Angels are a game under the .500 mark at 45-46.
They also have lost five in a row and are 1-9 in their last 10 games.
However, they remain just seven games back of first place in the AL West and are only five back of the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros in the Wild Card race.
A trade involving Ohtani may have a similar effect to the Angels that the Josh Hader trade did on the Milwaukee Brewers.
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