Blog

The Los Angeles Angels are 45-46, fourth in the AL West and seven games removed from first place.

Depending on how you view things, they might or might not have a chance to make the postseason.

Seven games is not a huge difference with a whole half left to play, and the Angels have been good when healthy.

They also have two specific starters blossoming behind Shohei Ohtani in the rotation: Reid Detmers and Griffin Canning.

However, they also have to cope with Mike Trout’s absence due to injury, so Ohtani will have to do most of the heavy lifting.

If the Angels decide that making the playoffs would be too difficult and they will sell some assets, Ohtani is almost certainly gone.

He would fetch a very nice return even though he will be, basically, a rental for any team acquiring him (he is under contract until after the 2023 World Series).

If he is indeed traded, MLB insider Buster Olney says the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, and the Tampa Bay Rays would be involved in negotiations.

Olney, in this video uploaded by Talkin’ Yanks, said his sources have the Yanks as the most likely team to make a play for Ohtani because they feel this is their window to win.

Buster Olney thinks the Yankees will be the main team trying to trade for Shohei Ohtani this season pic.twitter.com/InU9kivynS

— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 13, 2023

They have Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, and other “middle-aged” players in their prime of their careers.

“You bring in Ohtani, suddenly the Yankees rotation with him involved looks so strong,” he noted, as Cole, Ohtani, Nestor Cortes Jr., Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt/Domingo German is a nice-looking group.

He also mentioned the possibility of Ohtani, a lefty hitter, enjoying Yankee Stadium’s short porch.

There are reasons that make a Yankees-Ohtani match make sense.

Will they be okay with trading most of their top prospects and some major leaguers to get a deal done?

NEXT: 
David Ortiz Had The Perfect Yankees Diss On Tuesday Night