New Details Emerge About Padres' Pursuit of Shohei Ohtani Trade

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 28, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

In the summer of 2022, both the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly expressed interest in trading for Shohei Ohtani when the Los Angeles Angels briefly entertained the idea of moving him, but owner Arte Moreno ultimately decided to halt those discussions.

While both teams had plenty of packages to offer, the San Diego Padres were in the best position to get Ohtani.

Instead, they traded for Juan Soto.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggests that the Padres were prepared to offer an even greater package for Ohtani than they did for Soto. It’s hard to top that potential deal, especially with the highly aggressive GM A.J. Preller at the helm.

Fast foward to 2024 and the Padres are watching Soto with the Yankees and Ohtani with the Dodgers in the World Series.

Signed for $700 million last winter, Ohtani made history as the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, and he is expected to be the unanimous National League MVP. In his first postseason, the 30-year-old has recorded three home runs, 10 RBIs, and a .863 OPS over 13 games in Los Angeles' playoff journey.

He has gone 1-for-8 in the first two games of the World Series against the Yankees scoring a game-tying run in Game 1 that led unbelievable 6-3 win.

In Game 2, he injured his left shoulder sliding into second base on an attempted slide. He left the game and stayed behind in Los Angeles for further testing while the rest of the team took off for New York Saturday night.

“As far as test results, we've got doctors scrambling everywhere – I don't have them,” manager Dave Roberts said at his press conference before the team’s workout at Yankee Stadium on Sunday evening. “This is more me going by the training staff. Shohei [was] feeling good this morning, range of motion, strength.”

Roberts expressed optimism that Ohtani would complete his workout successfully and start as the designated hitter in Monday's Game 3. He noted that the injury affected Ohtani’s back shoulder during his swing, rather than his right shoulder, which can be more challenging for a left-handed hitter to manage.

“He's got to still go through the workout and swing the bat, but again, today feels better than yesterday, and our assumption is tomorrow's going to feel better than today,” Roberts said. “So that's what I'm banking on.”