Shohei Ohtani Sweepstakes Heating Up Around Texas Rangers
With two weeks remaining until the MLB trade deadline, all eyes are on the Los Angeles Angels as they try to resurrect their season or admit defeat and start fresh. The latter, the smart — and logical — move, would be trading All-Star phenom Shohei Ohtani.
Expect the Texas Rangers to be one of the front-runners to acquire his services. Even national reporters in the know expect the AL West division leaders to be one of the more hell-bent teams in landing perhaps the greatest player of all time.
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Texas is expected to be "aggressive" in trying to trade for Ohtani by the Aug. 1 deadline. Multiple playoff-contending teams are likely to be in the running, though Angels owner Arte Moreno made it clear that an in-state trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers would be off the table.
Everything for Texas is about holding on to its 3 1/2 game lead on the Houston Astros. Adding a massive bat in the middle of the lineup while also adding a top-of-your-rotation starting pitcher makes Ohtani ultra-enticing for clubs. The Rangers are one of the few contenders with a farm system stocked deep enough to perk the Angels' interest.
The Halos haven't been eliminated from playoff contention, but their margin for error is slim. SportsLine gives them less than a 3% chance of making the postseason and that could continue to decline because of injuries to Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Brandon Drury and Jo Adell.
Should Ohtani be made available, the asking price will be steep. Texas knows this. The entire league is aware that the league leader in home runs (35), slugging percentage (.677) and OPS (1.068) that boasts a 90-plus-mph fastball and a 3.50 ERA is going to cost the farm system.
The Rangers have options—plenty of packages they could offer to win the "Shohei Sweepstakes." Should Los Angeles ask for starting pitching, a two-man combination of Owen White, Brock Porter, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker (though he's currently on the IL after undergoing Tommy John Surgery) could be a starting point. At the plate, second baseman Justin Foscue is blocked for the foreseeable future with Marcus Semien locked up through 2028. With the addition of first-round pick Wyatt Langford, perhaps the Rangers take a risk by adding either top prospect Evan Carter or Dustin Harris to sweeten the deal.
Olney mentioned the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees are potential trade partners. Teams interested in acquiring Ohtani are likely to also be invested enough to pursue signing him to a long-term deal after this season. His contract with the Angels expires after this season, so most suitors will be leery of trading away a slew of prospects without having a firm idea whether Ohtani will be more than a 2023 rental.
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