Angels Rumors: Team May Pivot to Sellers if Shohei Ohtani Signs Elsewhere

Never say never...

Arte Moreno has made it clear that he has no interest in doing a rebuild of the team. He is consistently trying to field a winning team, but throughout his tenure as owner, it hasn’t worked.

The Angels haven’t seen the postseason since 2014, and they are now entering an offseason that could see their best player walk out the door. Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is a free agent, and it is widely expected that he will leave the only organization that he has known to join a winner.

If Ohtani does indeed leave the Angels, it would set up an entire new era for the team. And while they may not want to rebuild, Joel Sherman of The New York Post is reporting that the team may become sellers if Ohtani does bolt.

"One veteran agent told me recently that if the Angels do not re-sign Shohei Ohtani, he believed they would pivot and become sellers. I have difficulty seeing that under owner Arte Moreno. He has never seemed the type to face the reality of his roster or to be able to play three-dimensional chess."

Per Joel Sherman of The New York Post

This seems like a logical route to go down if Ohtani does leave, but it remains to be seen if Moreno would do it. The Angels could benefit from a teardown so that they could start over fresh to get themselves back into contention.

But Moreno has consistently prioritized money over winning throughout his tenure, and he likely wouldn't sign off on this move. The Angels have some nice pieces that they could move if they were to ever go down the route of being sellers, and that could help them start to field a better team.

This is an interesting thought, however, and it will be fascinating to see it all play out. Once Ohtani makes his decision, it will set things in motion for a ton of teams across the sport.