Angels general manager Perry Minasian spoke to the media yesterday and was asked how the club would approach the trade deadline in relation to Shohei Ohtani. “I think anybody that’s watched us play and where we’re at in the standings … I think it’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at,” Minasian said, as relayed by Sam Blum of The Athletic. When asked if the club’s performance over the next few weeks would impact that stance, he doubled down. “Pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”
The standings that he is referring to have the Angels currently at 41-34 as of this writing. That’s good enough to have them in position to secure one of the Wild Card spots in the American League. That would seem to mean that his “self-explanatory” comment is implying that, as a team firmly in contention, they will hold onto Ohtani rather than consider trade scenarios.
That’s a fairly understandable position to take, all things considered. Ohtani is a rental player, in that he’s slated to become a free agent at the end of this season. Players in that situation are often traded or featured in trade rumors, but they usually go from teams outside of contention to those who are in the hunt for the postseason.
Fans of rival clubs have naturally salivated over the possibility of an Ohtani trade for quite some time for a number of reasons. He is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player alive and continues to rack up stunning accolades on both sides of the ball. He already has one Most Valuable Player award and is making a strong case for another this year. His 24 home runs lead the league and his batting line of .295/.379/.623 amounts to a wRC+ of 170. In addition to that, he’s made 14 starts as a pitcher and has a 3.29 ERA.
That kind of elite play on both sides of the ball would be an upgrade to every club in the league and it’s difficult to even quantify how much to value it since it is so unique. The Angels would undoubtedly be able to recoup a massive haul if they made him available in trade talks but they would also severely undercut their own chances of success this year. Some observers might suggest that making the long-term move would be wise, but it’s understandable that the appetite for that path would be minimal. The club hasn’t posted a winning record since 2015, hasn’t made the playoffs since 2014 and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2009. Punting away their best chance in quite some time would be quite a tough pill to swallow.
That’s not to say that there’s zero chance of an Ohtani trade coming together. The club was willing to listen to offers last year when they were 42-57 and well out of contention. At that time, Ohtani still had a year and a half before his impending free agency. Ultimately, no deal came together and the club tried to compete again here in 2023 with Minasian firmly declaring they wouldn’t entertain Ohtani trades. They grabbed complementary players like Brandon Drury, Hunter Renfroe and Carlos Estévez and are now having their best season in recent memory. The club has also maintained that it would like to keep Ohtani beyond this season but hasn’t been able to get him to commit to anything thus far and will only have a harder time as he gets closer to the open market.
That would seem to create the possibility that there’s some scenario where the club plays poorly enough in the next six weeks that a deal becomes more likely, though Minasian understandably had little interest in entertaining such a hypothetical while the team is in a fairly decent place. It seems the most likely scenario is that the Angels will hold onto Ohtani through season’s end and hope that they can finally break some of their streaks of ineffectiveness. Doing so would still allow them to give Ohtani a qualifying offer at season’s end and receive a compensatory draft pick, likely just before the third round of the 2024 draft. Rivals teams would undoubtedly be willing to give the Halos a package far more appealing than that single draft pick, though it seems like that’s not something they are seriously considering as long as they continue to play well.
Quickly turning to non-Ohtani matters, Blum says that it appears Gio Urshela might have to miss the remainder of the season. The infielder was placed on the injured list this week due to a pelvic fracture and the club has yet to provide any kind of official estimated timeline for his absence. If it is indeed true that he won’t be able to return this year, that would be a blow to their infield depth. He has appeared at all four infield positions so far this year while hitting .299/.329/.374. With fellow infielders Zach Neto and Anthony Rendon also currently on the IL and other players struggling, the loss of a versatile defender like Urshela would be significant.
Giving him the $30,000,000 this year when they didn’t need too is a clear sign they don’t intend to trade him. They also gave Trout more than the minimum before they needed to. He’s signed at least two contracts since then to stay in LA
$30MM is a bargain for Ohtani.
Not in arbitration.
They would have lost and he would have gotten more than $30 mil in arbitration. And the last thing you want to do in a guys walk year is piss him off with a lowball offer
If it so clear he would’ve gotten more than the 30 why did he sign? Shouldn’t he have gone through arb ? He got 5.5 the year prior. He’s not getting a 600% raise through the arb process
The RUMOR flying around the stadium….today… is that Otani does not want to leave, but the Angels have not yet engaged in any talks to extend him
This is EXACTLY what my theory has been since Ohtanis agent made a strange comment at the end of ST. Also, arte made some positive comments with low active voice about the deal when he was asked in spring training. If it turns out Arte doesnt sign because arte cheaped out, it will crater the fan base. As a lifelong Angel fan, I’d almost certainly have to take a break from the team for mental health.
I believe it’s why Arte wanted to sell in the 1st place or at least finally tipped the scale.
He doesn’t want to be the guy that doesn’t sign Shohei Ohtani then keep the team, right?
So what made him decide to NOT sell…
Couldn’t agree with you more, I’m still not over Nolan Ryan. Especially after watching him continue to dominate for years after…
What about giving games away as they did last night?
Yeah, Ohtani and Trout really helped do their part last night….
That hurt. But wrong pitcher to put in and not bunting when they had a chance to score.
At a certain point, enough with the unicorn routine. You’re not winning with Ohtani. That’s what you’re paying for.
And yes, I’m aware they’re above 500. About time.
Even as a rental when you think of what they could get in return, that package could go MUCH further in making this a better overall team at a much more reasonable price than Ohtani. Any contender who acquires him immediately becomes the WS favorite. It makes no sense for the Angels to extend him for the reason you just stated – they haven’t won anything with him. And even if they get the best comp pick in history, that won’t help the team for years to come.
Should we be worried about Trout?
He’s starting to look like Kingfish when he got into his 30s…
Yeah that was terrible hitting w/RiSP. It’s not like you’re facing the prime Kershaw. That said, the idiot review guys in N.Y. screwed the Angels yet again. Ties go to the umpires calls, unless the Angels are involved. It’s getting almost comical now.
The game they gave away to KC 11 to 10 hurt really bad. Too many of those blowpen games this year. We will see it painfully at the end of the year, hopefully they won’t be a few games out of a playoff spot. They should have at least five more wins, maybe more.
Yeah that one hurt, the Pen is going to blow some games, you can’t expect them to be perfect. But that one was a BIG leed. Gotta close those one’s out.
What an awful GM. There is really no point in keeping Ohtani. He is garenteed to leave the Angels. They can possibly get 2-3 top prospects for trading away half a year of his services. There is a reason a team like the Rays are so good, they trade their top players before they hit free agency. Thats how the Rays continuely do so well every year without spending any money. A slim chance at a third wild card when they can get so many good, controllable, young players for Ohtani. Makes no sense. The only GM worse than Minasian is Billy Eppler, another former Angels GM
Mets? LMAO!
Sometimes GM;s play it close to the vest as to try and not give away their true position. It could be that he wants other teams to think he doesn’t want to trade Ohtani just so they will raise their ante.
If I had a quarter for every time I heard a GM say “so and so is not going to be traded”……and then that player gets traded
Did the GM really say “so and so”? How did anyone know who they were referring to?
Lol, awful? They’re tied for second in the division and in the playoffs today. If they win a World Series was he stupid to keep him? He brought in Drury, Renfroe, Estevez, Urshela and every one of them is performing. He didn’t sign Rendon. He didn’t sign Pujols. He took over an awful situation 3+ years ago and has it looking pretty good now. Not to mention his first year was the COVID season.
He signed tyler anderson for 3 years after 1 good season with the Dodgers.
every gm makes bets, and each one loses some.
it was stupid then and stupid now.
Talk at the end of the season before knowing what a bad signing is. His last outing was good.
5.64 ERA, 77 ERA+, 1.587 WHIP, 1.65K/W. And he is 33 years old. You know?
@butte
If they don’t win a World Series, was he stupid to keep him? That’s at best a 1 in 30 chance. Basing whether it was the right or wrong move on winning it all is a pretty high bar, and not reasonable.
Rays owner is hands off. Arte, of course, is not. Ohtani ain’t going nowhere. Keeping or moving him is purely an ownership call. Doesn’t matter who the GM or PoBO is or where the Angels are in the standings. Arte will definitely back up the Brinks truck and hit that dump button to keep him. And Ohtani, the dude, will abide.
@C Yards there is the possibility it’s not “all about the money” for Shohei, and Brinks truck or not, he may wish to move on from Arte Moreno owning his life after this season is over.
The only stipulation I’ve ever heard about Ohtani’s destination is that he wants to stay on the Pacific coast. Sorry, new York.
He also signed with the Angels for a reason in the beginning. Not surprised about West Coast since there is more support for Japanese born there.
It’s not always about money, especially to non-Americans.
Every team is going to “back up the Brinks truck”. Ohtani will sign with a team he believes is ready to win. The money will be there.
with such low payroll he shouldn’t even show up.
The Rays would’ve traded Ohtani a year or two ago and maximized the return.
We’ve already lost maximum return. Arte Moreno runs this team. So blaming the GM is kind of silly.
The point in keeping Ohtani is that most GMs are not that stupid. They won’t give away top prospects for three months of Ohtani. The only way that would work is if the team that would trade for him works out a contract with him beyond this year. I don’t recall the Ray’s trading away a top player before FA. The only top player I can think of that got away is Snell, but he was so pissed off at being taken out of a PO game when he was pitching well, I don’t think he would have played for the Rays after that. I don’t even know if he left via a trade.
@avenger65 Austin Meadows, Chris Archer, Evan Longoria
Longoria and Archer weren’t top players when they were traded
Ohtani is not, and never will be the GMs call. NO GM WILL EVER HAVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION, EVER. Ohtani is an owners call. Arte and any owner of a prospective team trying to lure him away from the Angels
Arte is a bigger issue.
Oh yeah, what a terrible GM to keep your best player while in playoff contention.
Angels have a long history of signing clowns for GM’s.
Tampa Bay does not trade away its players during the season when contending. They make their trades in the off season.
The Angels not trading Ohtani is a mistake.
The best possible team to sign him is the Giants in my oppinion. And the Angels seem to have a better chance.
they keep him all year, they enter the offseason with the highest chance of retaining him, in my eyes. those odds go up if they can trade a package around jo adell and edgar quero for shane bieber
Yet another terrible take. Yeah, trade the best player in the game, while you’re currently in a playoff spot and battling for the West crown. Brilliant!
Plug – well named. Ohtani is not coming back to the Angels. Why is this so complicated? The Angels will fall out of contention (that’s what they do) and, a year from now, the Angels have nothing to show for Ohtani. Nothing. The Angels franchise is poorly run – “terrible take” is right. Ohtani wants to win and he is no fool – just be happy Trout is content with losing.
LMAO at you, nice crystal ball u have. Looks like a hater slash, and or troll alert.
Captain Obvious…I mean, Perry Minasian, what do you think about the national debt?
“Pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”
“Please expand on ‘where we’re at'”.
“It’s self-explanatory. Look at the standings.”
What an odd fella.
Perry, did you take out the trash?
“Pretty self-explanatory with where it’s at.”
Police Officer: Sir, do you have any idea how fast you were going back there?
“Pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”
US history high school final:
Q: “In your own words, describe the financial implications of the Industrial Revolution on the working class family in the U.S.”
A: “I think it’s pretty self explanatory.”
The puppy who lost its way.
-Billy Madison
My guys: “hey B.A. are we actually gonna strike? Should I be saving money?”
Me:
“I think it’s pretty self explanatory with where we’re at”
Why would they willingly give a rival the upper hand?
Money and term not an issue for Arte if he so chooses , ( history shows us that ). I have no idea of course but I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays an Angel long term.
Nor would I be surprised if he goes.
Just saying , not a given he’s a goner.
Why are we even discussing this matter when it’s all so self-explanatory??
Are the Giants a strong possibility? Seems to make sense to me….
Seems like he’s the Giants’ or Dodgers’ to lose at this point.
The Dodgers pretty much let it be known they want Ohtani by saving their pennies this off-season. I’m sure the Dbacks are glad they did. I hope Ohtani – if he leaves the Angels – will end up in Seattle. Ichiro might talk him into it.
Oh yeah, he will be on the first flight to Seattle to join the 4th place out of contention Mariners.
Would they be in 4th with Ohtani?
I would love to see him be a dback great young team that needs better pitching.
I would love to see him end up in San Fran
Crazy to think you had Ohtani for five years and he couldn’t even get them over .500. Difference is he is hitting better as last year he pitched 160 Innings more than ever before yet his hitting got hurt with 34 Homeruns. This year the pitching not affecting his hitting even though later on it might. Just trade him while he great at both.
There’s a lot of players who would like their season to get hurt by hitting 34 HRs.
This could end up as one of the worst moves related to asset management in history.
Losing a player of his calibre for essentially nothing is such an unnecessary risk.
@Dusty but trading Ohtani while the team is in contention would be such a bad look; a public relations catastrophe, and I believe, a giant “FU” to the fans. ( Not like Moreno is innocent of never screwing over the fanbase) but this would be a step too far. Unless the Angels plummet off a cliff like a lead balloon in the next three weeks (which is definitely not out of the question) Ohtani is staying put.
The giant FU to the fans is wasting the career of Ohtani every year prior to 2023.
Dusty, that is so small market kind of thinking. You’d be a fool, if you think the Yankees or Dodgers ect., Would trade Ohtani before free agency if they had him, and in the same situation.
These big market teams would roll the dice, with hopes of re-signing him. That’s always been the play.
Plug.. you make it sound like the Angels have enjoyed success with their “big market thinking”.
No, the Yankees and dodgers would extend him.
Lol Dusty, and u don’t think the Angels have tried to extend the best player in the game. That’s just comical.
I do and I think he doesn’t want to re sign so they should manage their asset and trade him.
This really isn’t difficult
No it’s not that difficult, you got that part right. Some players just want to test the waters in free agency, it’s the person, and a personal life choice, not so much the team. Most are only a free agent once.
I have no issues with Ohtani doing it.
But the angels can’t afford to lose him for nothing.
let’s be real, Arte Moreno makes these decisions and there’s no chance he’ll admit defeat and trade Ohtani.
I give us about a 15% chance of resigning him. If the young guys continue to play well and we make the playoffs, that might jump to 20%. So there could be something gained.
If Kershaw retires. And the Dodgers let Julio and Mad Max walk. They won’t have a better roster than the Angels do, even without Ohtani. The Mets, are not better than the Angels. The Giants and Padres would both be all in on him. But how many large contracts can Preller give out, before he hang’s himself? The Mariners have better starting pitching, but Ohtani would never see a pitch in that lineup. Besides that, trader Jerry has a reputation of throwing players under the bus. The Yankees are one of the oldest teams in baseball. How long before they fall of the cliff? The Roid Sox, are not close to contending in that division.
angelsfan4life: The Red Sox would be with Ohtani.
Avenger65, the Roid Sox have less pitching than the Angels do.
@angelsfan4life Whoah Whoah in what universe does Jerry Dipoto throw players under the bus?? Have not seen any trace of that behavior while he’s been in Seattle anyway, perhaps you are referring to before landing here, not sure bro. And Seattle was #2 on his list last time, & the franchise has the Moolah and plethora of young pitching.
He has never indicated his intentions. All of the “contenders” the media has Ohtani going to are at this time worse than the Angels or about the same. This is the same media that didn’t have Angels on their list of landing him in the first place. Stop falling for it.
But it’s only percentages of a chance he stays to us. Its a Schrodengers cat scenario. Ohtani either wants to stay or he doesnt.
We can keep guessing, but the only thing he has said over and over when asked about staying is he wants to win.
Go back to his lifetime goal list from when he was a kid (it can be found on reddit still)- he wants to win multiple world series. If the Angels offer a chance to do that, Id bet he stays. If they dont, Id bet he leaves.
Yep.
What I like is that young guys like Neto, Thaiss, Barria, Detmers, and Moniak are doing well. That guys like Joyce are getting called up.
The fact the young guys are putting the team into playoff contention had to help.
It is pretty self-explanatory.. the Angels don’t trade Ohtani, they finish the year at .500, he walks via free agency, and Trout never gets another playoff AB. Pretty self-explanatory.
watch the angels get red-hot with ohtani this fall. that clubhouse knows better than anyone else what he means to a team, and they should be highly motivated to piece it together and keep him around.
Yeah, the last place in weak central!
Last in the Central is tough.. not quite as tough as 7 consecutive losing seasons. But tough. I thought I was being kind by saying they finish at .500 this year.
I truly hope the Angels make the playoffs. I would love to see Ohtani on the big stage.
You’re being kind by saying the Angels will finish .500 when they’re on pace to win around 88-89 games. Worst case scenario is they finish .500.
Yes, Trout will miss all those playoff AB’s that he gotten WITH Ohtani on the team.
They’re NOT going to get top 2 or 3 prospects for a rental. You don’t trade a once in a lifetime type player. The Rays do well because they draft and coach well. They trade away good players because they don’t draw well and can’t afford them. Perry built a good BP on the fly this year. Maybe you should look at the standings before making your insane rant. Why don’t you just write “ I hate the Angels” and be done with it” Try selling crazy somewhere else, We’re all stocked up here.
Perry, what do you think the fracturing of the American media landscape is doing to the national public discourse on matters of public importance when lowering percentages of the population agree on what is fact and what is fiction?
“Pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”
He’ll likely sign in Boston.
All comments so far are that he isn’t interested in signing with any East Coast team and that certainly includes Boston…..get real man!
Ohtani’s agent – with his best Austin Powers voice “One Billion dollars”
… Dr Evil.
I think they should trade him, get a haul and hope to sign him. I also think if the Jays keep playing like this they should trade Chapman and some BP arms and either use what they get to trade for the infielder they need for 2+ seasons then or in the offseason. I really think the Jays shouldn’t deplete there system further if they keep playing like this
The Angels are in contention. Any baseball team would not trade such a player while winning. Minasian was trying to get feels from the market last offseason but Arte shut it saying possible buyers of the Angels would want to have him in the team. Then he decided not to sell the team.
The angels could trade Ohtani and get MLB players with control and prospects. Then possibly bring him back in the offseason.
It’s a tough position for the FO being in contention, even though trading him is much better for the long term status of the team even while in contention.
Cubs are in a similar position with stroman and to a lesser extent, bellinger.
If the cubs are in contention, it’s moot, but if they fall out, the cubs could get a very good return on those two players and try to resign them in the offseason. Which if the goal is to go deep in the postseason next year and beyond, it’s what they should be aiming for.
The cubs are a .500 ish, in a weak division where that could win it, but they would have to sell the farm to have a shot at doing anything in the post season this year, so trading them even while middling around the division lead is a savvy, viable option imo.
They aren’t trading him. The question is who has both the money to sign him and gives him the best chance at winning a championship? (The answer is it isn’t the Angels)…