Rampant speculation around superstar, two-way player Shohei Ohtani potentially being dealt before the August 1 trade deadline can almost assuredly be put to rest, as the Los Angeles Angels have pulled the ‘greatest player since Babe Ruth’ off the market, sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney, confirming a Sports Illustrated report.
Teams have been told that the Angels will not trade Ohtani before Tuesday’s deadline, sources told Olney on Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, the Angels signaled they were buyers, acquiring right-hander Lucas Giolito and right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox for catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush, two top prospects.
The Angels are four games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the American League going into Thursday’s doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, with Ohtani scheduled to start the opener.
The idea of Ohtani being traded with just two months remaining before his highly anticipated run at free agency had long been seen as a longshot from front office executives throughout the industry, but people close to the situation, familiar with the Angels’ thinking, had begun to suggest in recent days that a block buster package might sway owner Arte Moreno to make a move.
One source in particular said the Angels had considered letting the week play out, with back-to-back road series against the Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, before making a final decision.
However, that decision appears to have been reached a little early, partly because the Angels have run off six of their past seven games and partly, a separate source said, because the organization has been unmoved by the players offered in return.
Ohtani is a transcendent two-way star who is expected to finish within the top two in AL MVP voting for a third consecutive year and then command a free agent contract worth at least $500 million, which would be the biggest contract in MLB history.
Moreno, who has opted against both trading Ohtani and selling the franchise over the past year, is expected to make an attempt at re-signing him in the offseason. Sources have said Ohtani would prefer to stay with the Angels for the stretch run and that Moreno would have no shot to bring him back as a free agent if he were to trade Ohtani to another team.
