Angels Columnist Compares Potential Ohtani Trade to Blockbuster 2018 Machado Deal

No deal is better than a bad one!

Will they or won't they? That's the question that everywhere around the baseball world is asking about the Los Angeles Angels possibly trading away star two-way player Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani will be a free agent at the end of the season and almost all reporting seems to believe that he will leave the Angels. So naturally, it would make sense for the team to trade Ohtani and not allow him to leave for nothing. Well, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register doesn't think so.

"It’s not happening, anyway. Shohei Ohtani isn't getting dealt. Not as long as these Angels are within spitting distance of a postseason appearance."

Los Angeles has been on fire of late and it has vaulted them back into playoff contention. They only sit a few games back of a Wild Card spot and they could make headway in the division with a strong series this week against the leading Texas Rangers.

The Angels haven't sniffed the postseason since 2015 so the belief is that they will go for it since they are within distance. After all, they have two of the leagues top players in Ohtani and Mike Trout. So why not try? Right?

Let's say they did trade Ohtani. Could they guarantee that the players they got back would help the club? No. Most prospects don't plan out at the Major League level. Just look at the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers trade back in 2018. Swanson compares a potential Ohtani deal to this. 

The Dodgers, who had lost Corey Seager to season-ending surgery, got two regular-season months out of Machado, who then helped the Dodgers get back to the World Series. The Baltimore Orioles got prospects Yusniel Diaz, Rylan Bannon, Dean Kremer, Breyvic Valera and Zach Pop. No one whose name pops off the page, huh?

The loyal Angels fans deserve the team to try and it seems that is the direction that the team will go. However, it isn't without major risk. 

Ohtani could still leave the team, even if they contend and make the playoffs. So unless he commits to staying, the Angels have a tough decision to make. Go for a possible playoff spot and hope for a postseason run but still risk losing arguably the biggest star in baseball over the last 10 seasons. 

It's a decision that I'm glad I don't have to make. But however the Angels choose to proceed, it'll be fascinating to watch play out.