Will the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani Be Traded and Where To?

Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is August 1. Some teams, like the St. Louis Cardinals, are sellers looking to rebuild. Others would like nothing more than to land one of the greatest players of this generation, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Shohei Ohtani, soon to be a free agent.

While the All-Star break winds down check out our MLB Futures.

Shohei Ohtani’s Suiters for the MLB Trade Deadline

Anyone who tuned in to this past All-Star Game in Seattle could hear the chants from the crowd when the 2021 AL MVP stepped up to the plate. They’d love for Ohtani to join the Mariners and make them a force to be reckoned with.

It’s always tricky sussing out who is saying what behind the scenes, despite what it said in front of the cameras. Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Manasian was adamant last month that Ohtani was going nowhere, least of all by August 1.

Then, on July 6, a report from the New York Post hinted that people who work inside the Angels organization are ever so slightly open to the idea of negotiating something that would involve the Japanese-born player.

The larger point is that, even if Ohtani is not dealt on or by August 1, he is a free agent in the next offseason. MLB clubs would be ready to pay a king’s ransom for his talents. Recently The Athletic‘s baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal spoke to Sportsnet Central and, from his knowledge, the Los Angeles Dodgers are a likely suitor, although who knows what can happen in free agency.

One thing is for sure, the possibility of Shohei Ohtani suiting up for another club right after August 1 will be a talking point as big as the games played between now and then.