Report: Angels' Ohtani stance slowing trade market
Report: Angels' Ohtani stance slowing trade market originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, perhaps the greatest baseball player of his generation, is greatly affecting the trade market ahead of MLB’s upcoming Tuesday deadline.
“We’ve been talking to some of these teams that are interested in Ohtani,” a high-ranking MLB executive of a team in sell mode told The Athletic’s Jayson Stark. “And they’re saying they’re not ready to give up prospects yet because they need to save them, in case they have to include them in an Ohtani deal.”
The Angels reportedly are listening to trade offers for Ohtani. But they expect a high price tag -- reportedly in the range of multiple top-100 prospects -- to even begin trade talks.
The Angels also could hang onto him past the deadline and make one last run at a playoff appearance with superstars Ohtani and Mike Trout leading the way. Los Angeles recently has inched back into the postseason picture with a 7-3 stretch since the All-Star break. The Angels are 6.5 games back in the AL West and 4 games out of a wild-card spot.
The Giants will be tied to Ohtani all winter long as the superstar is set to hit free agency for the first time. They could bring him to the Bay Area earlier by stringing together a trade offer in the next week, as shortstop Marco Luciano, left-handed pitchers Kyle Harrison and Carson Whisenhunt, as well as outfielder Luis Matos are all consensus top-100 prospects in the Giants' system. But San Francisco plans for Luciano and Matos to be key contributors down the stretch, and the two young lefties shouldn't be too far behind.
The Giants could use some help at the deadline, notably in the middle infield and in their starting rotation. But for now, it might be nothing but crickets in the San Francisco front office until Ohtani is dealt or taken off the trade block.
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