The Los Angeles Angels have decided to hang on to 2-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, at least for the rest of the season.
The Angels said they have decided not to trade Ohtani, a morning after making a significant move that signaled they are in win-now mode and five days before the MLB trade deadline.
It was celebratory news in the Angels’ clubhouse, and Ohtani celebrated with a gem, he pitched the first complete game of his Major League Baseball career Thursday, spinning a one-hitter in a 6-0 rout over the Detroit Tigers.
“We’re going to roll the dice and see what happens,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian told reporters in Detroit prior to a twin bill against the Tigers on Thursday.
Ohtani will hit the free agent market in the offseason. Even though the organization risks losing the 29-year-old slugger and starting pitcher on an open market where he could command at least $500 million, they are motivated to make their first postseason appearance in his six major league seasons.
Another factor in the decision, a source told ESPN on Wednesday, was that the Angels have not been phased in the slightest by the players offered in return for Ohtani.
Sources have said Ohtani would prefer to stay with the Angels for the stretch run and that owner Arte Moreno would have little to no shot of bringing him back as a free agent if he were to trade Ohtani to another team.
“I love Shohei Ohtani,” Minasian said. “He comes in, prepares, works, goes out and performs on a nightly basis. Obviously, does both [hitting and pitching]. He’s a great teammate. He takes this really seriously. He eats it. He sleeps it.
“He’s somebody that we would love to have going forward.”
The Angels came into Thursday four games out of the final wild-card spot in the American League after being victorious in six of their last seven games.
Ohtani, the 2021 AL MVP, tops the majors in home runs (36) and OPS at the plate and is among the leaders in opponent batting average and strikeouts on the mound.
Attempting to elevate their chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2014, the Angels acquired right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night for a pair of top prospects from their farm system.
The Angels are desperate to shed their image for wasting the talents of MVPs Mike Trout and Ohtani. Moreno’s club has the majors’ longest streaks of consecutive losing seasons (seven) and consecutive non-playoff seasons (eight, tied with Detroit).
Keeping Ohtani on the roster gives the Angels the chance to do just that.
“I never went up to Shohei and said, ‘Hey, we’re not trading you,'” Minasian said. “Think I made it pretty clear the last time we talked, I think, that he wasn’t going anywhere. I don’t know if anybody believed me.”
