Report: 'Zero per-cent chance' Angels trade Ohtani
Published
Los Angeles Angels' two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is the crown jewel in this fall's free agent crop, but don't look for him to be on the move before then.
A source tells the New York Post's Jon Heyman that there's a "zero per-cent chance" the Halos trade him in season.
Ohtani, 28, is currently playing on a one-year, $30 million deal in his sixth big-league season and final year of arbitration-eligibility. He hits unrestricted free agency in the offseason.
Though the Angels will do whatever they can to hold onto their Japanese superstar, a team source tells Heyman that the chances of them keeping Ohtani for the long term are also slim.
The team's other superstar, three-time American League Most Valuable Player and 10-time All-Star Mike Trout, told Heyman that making the postseason — something the team has done just once in the past 13 seasons and not in eight years — could convince Ohtani to remain with the team.
“Ultimately, it’s going to come down if we get to the playoffs," the 31-year-old Trout said. "That could put a thought in his mind — that could give us a shot.”
Through 18 games this season, Ohtani is batting .269 with four home runs, 11 runs batted in and an OPS of .841.
On the mound, he's 2-0 in four starts in 2023 with a 0.86 earned run average and WHIP of 0.905 over 21.0 innings pitched.