It seems as if baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani is staying put in Los Angeles ahead of the trade deadline.
The MLB trade deadline is just days away — 6 p.m. ET on August 1 — and the biggest rumored name is reportedly off the trade block. On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci reported that the Los Angeles Angels are going to keep Ohtani and make a playoff push with the star instead. As of Wednesday, the Angels are four games out of a wild card spot.
In their last 10 games, the Angels have gone 7-3 while teams like the New York Yankees and their recent struggles have opened a spot in the running. According to Verducci, the Angels are not only going to keep Ohtani, the team is set to be buyers at the trade deadline.
The Angels have reportedly taken Shohei Ohtani "off the trade market", per Tom Verducci. pic.twitter.com/drBh0XZrEF
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 27, 2023
Ohtani has been rumored out of Los Angeles for some time, given the Angels’ absolutely dreadful performance as a franchise in recent history. Despite the abundant talk of possible destinations for the superstar, it seems as if Ohtani is staying put as the Angels make a playoff push.
Of course, a playoff spot isn’t guaranteed, especially not with how log-jammed the wild card race is in the AL. And given that Ohtani is on a one-year contract, it’s possible that the worst case scenario comes to pass: that the Angels miss the playoffs and are unable to sign their star this offseason.
Not only were MLB fans hoping for complete chaos in the next week, the Angels are arguably better served trading Ohtani for a haul before possibly losing him for nothing this offseason. With this news, however, MLB fans roasted the Angels for reportedly taking Ohtani off the trade market.