Angels News: Insider Says Halos Will ‘Regret’ Not Trading Shohei Ohtani at Deadline

Did the Angels hold on too long?

One of the biggest stories heading into the deadline was whether or not the Angels were going to trade Shohei Ohtani.

Many people thought that the Angels could've gotten a king's ransom for the two-way superstar including multiple top prospects, a star pitcher, or pretty much whatever they wanted. 

But the Angels shocked everybody.

They pulled Ohtani off the table, they never even really considered trading him, and instead of selling at the deadline, decided to buy and build around Ohtani for the rest of the season in hopes to try and keep the superstar happy.

The real question is whether the Angels will regret it. Here's what The Athletic's Jim Bowden says:

"The

Angels

will regret it this winter when he signs elsewhere. They should have waited until the deadline to at least gauge what type of return they could have gotten for the best rental ever. Instead, they’ve taken a huge risk of losing him in free agency and only getting draft-pick compensation."

via Jim Bowden /

The Athletic

I mean, he has a point. 

If the Angels end up losing out on the Ohtani sweepstakes this winter, then not getting anything in return might come back to haunt them in the years to come.

You only get so much draft pick compensation, and it's much harder to scout players out of the amateur ranks and develop them than trade for MLB ready talent in the minor leagues.

The Angels definitely didn't have to sell him, but to at least listen to offers for him would've been beneficial for them. I think the Angels would've liked what they heard. 

We can't tell right now what the future holds for the Angels. For all we know, they win the World Series this year, Shohei Ohtani is happy that the team decided to build around him, and he stays in LA for the long haul

But as of right now, it seems like the Angels might've missed out on a chance to score one of the biggest prospect hauls ever, in hopes of making their superstar happy.

Did the Angels make the right move?