MLB Fans Criticize Angels for Pulling Shohei Ohtani Off Trade Market Before Deadline
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Sports fans love a blockbuster trade, and it’s rare that a superstar like Shohei Ohtani finds himself available on the market.
So Wednesday’s report from SI.com’s Tom Verducci that the Los Angeles Angels weren’t planning to deal Ohtani ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline was met with varying degrees of surprise and scorn on MLB Twitter:
Sam Blum @SamBlum3
The Angels aren’t trading Shohei Ohtani, per @SInow.
It’s confusing timing to make the determination — given that the team’s playoff situation could be vastly different on Aug. 1.
But it never seemed likely that Ohtani was getting dealt. For better or worse.
Dodgers Talk @LaDodgersTalk
The Angels have taken Ohtani off of the trade market because they think they can make a playoff push.
This shows how inept Angels ownership is. They are going to lose him and get nothing in the off-season pic.twitter.com/35D1m0AyFA
Tim George @TimGeorgeSV
The Angels are going to Angel… https://t.co/0HYj9XACux
Rob Anglin @fadelinez_
Kinda stupid if you ask me I understand they wanna “push for the playoffs” But A you gotta get by Boston,Houston or Toronto for the last wild card and B if he walks you could’ve capitalized on a haul of prospects and major league talent for Ohtani kinda a head scratcher https://t.co/4Dx1dOO2Ch
Michael McDonough @MMcDonough56
It’s a bluff. A GM can’t be that bad. https://t.co/qAebmx7Q8S
jackson @foreverstros
thank god every day they’re in my division they have absolutely no idea what they’re doing🙏 https://t.co/cPoa8qhnvV
Chris Guzman 🏆 @christopherguz
This is going to set the Angels back for years. https://t.co/fzLWlV8gCX
Ryan Nanni @celebrityhottub
feels like this guarantees the Angels miss the playoffs by a dozen games https://t.co/JhrtbZIyYb
The Angels found themselves in a tough position.
If they traded him, well, they were the team that traded the legendary Ohtani. Anything less than an epic haul of top prospects wasn’t going to suffice, and since the superstar is set to hit free agency this winter, teams reportedly were hesitant to offer their top-shelf prospects.
As Verducci wrote, “A source familiar with those talks said teams were offering minor league players—and not their top prospects. Those talks did not produce any momentum.”
Keeping Ohtani, of course, risks losing him for nothing in free agency. That too would be brutal, although the part that many detractors of the decision don’t seem to acknowledge is that Ohtani ultimately could choose to re-sign with the Angels.
If that happens, Wednesday’s move is going to look a lot better in hindsight. Perhaps a playoff berth this season after an eight-year drought would sweeten the pot for Ohtani. Perhaps the Angels evolving into a true contender would make him feel even more at home with an organization that has significantly catered to him.
Jeff Fletcher @JeffFletcherOCR
This Nevin quote from today’s other Ohtani story — about how they shuffled the rotation — is instructive in finding a reason why Ohtani may want to stay.
“As always, it revolves around what’s best for Shohei, because of who he is and what he does on an everyday basis for us.”
It’s important to remember that Ohtani already chose the Angels once. It’s possible he could do so again, even as a bidding war for his services will likely lead to a record-setting contract this winter.
If the Angels have the stomach for that level of payday, they have a chance to keep baseball’s player. Wednesday’s decision suggests they might.
