Inside The Pinstripes

MLB Insider: Yankees Made 'Serious' Trade Offer For Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles turned down an offer for Shohei Ohtani from the Yankees, according to the New York Post.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — The Yankees were among a short list of teams to make "serious offers" for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

According to Heyman, New York, along with the Padres and White Sox, tried to get Ohtani leading up to the trade deadline. Ultimately, Los Angeles decided to stop listening to offers and officially keep their generational talent. 

Ohtani is the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, an ace-caliber starting pitcher and slugger that wreaks havoc offensively. In 2022, Ohtani has a 2.81 ERA over 17 starts, striking out 145 batters in 99.1 innings pitched. He's also hitting .255/.352/.495 with 22 home runs and 62 RBI in 99 games.

With Los Angeles outside of the postseason picture once again this year, and Ohtani approaching free agency (he's on pace to hit the open market after next season), it made sense for the Angels to entertain an Ohtani trade. This way, they could potentially recoup an unprecedented amount of value for an all-time talent if they don't plan to extend Ohtani (or they simply can't afford the contract he's worthy of). 

It would've taken quite the haul of prospects for the Angels to truly consider a trade, though. Even if the Yankees included No. 1 prospect Anthony Volpe, who has been untouchable, Los Angeles would want (and arguably deserve) much more for two postseason runs with Ohtani.

The Yankees are in the market for a starting pitcher leading up to Tuesday's trade deadline (targeting Frankie Montas, among others). Ohtani would've been a tremendous addition to their starting staff, alongside Gerrit Cole. Imagine his bat in the starting lineup with the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew Benintendi and more as well.

Nonetheless, it seems like Los Angeles won't be moving their superstar player. At least not this summer. Angels owner Arte Moreno is believed to be unwilling to let Ohtani leave, per Heyman.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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