Angels Rumors: Writer Thinks Four Teams Could Pursue Shohei Ohtani Trade This Season

There will probably be even more teams if he becomes available.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian has made it clear that Shohei Ohtani will not be traded this offseason. The Angels are fully planning on starting next season with Ohtani on the roster, and would love to keep him there for the remainder of the season (and the long term future).

However, if the Angels come out slow next season, and end up falling out of the playoff race by July, they may be forced into entertaining the idea of moving their two-way superstar — because the only thing worse than trading him would be losing him for nothing a few months later. And if the Angels do end up trading him, there will be tons of suitors ready to give them a haul. Zachary D. Rymer at Bleacher Report predicted four teams will emerge as the favorites to pull off a deal.

"If the Angels do put Ohtani and what's left of his $30 million salary on the block, every contender with deep pockets and talent to spare will surely be interested. Speculatively, we're talking the New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and, probably above all, the Los Angeles Dodgers."

The four biggest spenders in the MLB all make sense as landing spots to trade for Ohtani, as they would all love the opportunity to get the "head-start" on trying to sign him to an extension. They would get the advantage of convincing him to stay with their team, as they'll get a few months of a trial with him in their city and winning games in their clubhouse.

If there are a lot of teams interested (which there obviously would be), it would bode well for the Angels, as that bidding war for a few months of Ohtani will be like nothing we've ever seen. Usually, a team wouldn't get a ton of value trading a player a few months away from being a free agent, but in Ohtani's case, it doesn't feel like that would matter.

The best case-scenario for Angels fans is their team coming out strong next season, firmly putting themselves in the postseason picture. But if that doesn't happen, they would be foolish to not at least field offers for their two-way star.