As the Los Angeles Angels seem to slowly sink out of playoff contention in the AL West, it appears as if trading away superstar Shohei Ohtani isn't entirely out of the question.
With the Aug. 1 trade deadline less than a month away, it's a potential deal certainly on the minds of many MLB front offices -- and most likely the Giants, who are seen by some as a competitive suitor for the two-way phenom in free agency next offseason.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that the Angels are saying "they will 'know a lot more in the next two or three weeks' regarding their plans" to trade Ohtani.
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"Folks still have a hard time imagining owner Arte Moreno trading the game’s best current player, and maybe the best ever, even if he’s somehow convinced they have no chance to re-sign him," Heyman wrote. "Even so, Angels people seem to be leaving open the slight possibility of an Ohtani blockbuster."
Angels general manager Perry Minasian said in November that Los Angeles wouldn't trade Ohtani ahead of the 2023 MLB season. And per Heyman, Moreno was "dead-set against a trade" at the deadline last summer. But this season, the Angels are 6 1/2 games out of first place and 3 1/2 games back of the AL's third and final wild-card spot.
Los Angeles has gone 15-17 since June 1, and things aren't looking up after their other superstar, Mike Trout, suffered a fractured hamate bone earlier this week. The Giants, meanwhile, have gone 19-12 in the same span and are making a postseason push just 2 1/2 games out of first in the NL West.
So far in 2023, Ohtani has pitched his way to a 7-4 record with a 3.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts while slashing .296/.383/.650 at the plate with 31 home runs.
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Ohtani is set to become a free agent this winter, but the Giants have fielded a promising mix of rookies and veterans this season who certainly could use the hitting, pitching titan down the stretch. Plus, Ohtani spending a couple of months in the Bay could make things that much easier for San Francisco once the free-agency sweepstakes for him begin.
It might be wishful thinking, and thoughts of attaining a superstar have plagued the Giants franchise and its fans recently.
But when a talent like Ohtani is possibly on the block, it's worth pulling out all the stops.