Philadelphia Phillies Could Track Ohtani at Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies have to work to do to get back in contention, but so do Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels.

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The Philadelphia Phillies could be a destination for future free-agent superstar Shohei Ohtani. But, what about a trade destination?

Is that something the Phillies would even consider?

The Angels are mulling their short-term future with Ohtani.

The Athletic cited a quote from Angels owner Arte Moreno earlier this season in which he said that the Angels were not interested in trading Ohtani at the deadline.

But Moreno’s quote came with a caveat.

“We will not trade Ohtani while we are contending for a playoff spot.” Moreno said.

The Angels enter Tuesday’s game with the Chicago Cubs one game over .500 and 9.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West. But, the Angels are within striking distance of the final Wild Card berth.

It’s entirely possible the Angels can bounce back and be competitive, thanks to a favorable schedule the rest of June that features just two teams with winning records.

It gives the Angels a path to cut into the gap between them and the front-runners. If the Angels can get things moving in the right direction, they can get right back in the race.

But what if they can’t? What does that mean to the Phillies, who are facing their own contention decisions?

The Phillies are under-.500, but like the Angels they’re not entirely out of the postseason race, less than 10 games behind Atlanta in the NL West and less than a half-dozen games out of the last Wild Card spot.

Coming off their World Series appearance, injuries have been a big part of the Phillies’ struggles this season, including slugger Bryce Harper in and infielder Alec Bohm.

Acquiring someone like Ohtani would help solve for both of those issues.

Plus, the Phillies’ farm system is well thought-of. They have the capital to make such a move.

It might also give the Phillies an inside track to keeping Ohtani as a free agent. The Angels are considered a serious contender for Ohtani’s services next season because they’re his current team. Those odds would likely go down if he was dealt.

If the Phillies acquired him, might that give them a leg up to keep him?

It would be a significant gamble on the Phillies’ part because the opposite could be true. Even by acquiring him, and spending the prospect capital to do so, the Phillies might lose him in free agency anyway. In that scenario, they would be left without Ohtani and what was spent to acquire him.

Like the Angels, the Phillies have to play their way into contention first to even think about making such a move.

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