It still remains unclear whether or not the Los Angeles Angels will ultimately trade Shohei Ohtani before the MLB trade deadline at the beginning of August. Regardless, two contending teams are at least testing the waters on a potential trade for Ohtani.
Both the Baltimore Orioles and the Arizona Diamondbacks appear to be in prime position to potentially make the postseason in their respective league.
This certainly makes a trade for Ohtani enticing, and both have “inquired” with the Angels about Ohtani’s availability in a trade, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
With only a little over a week before the trade deadline, time is of the essence for any team wanting to trade for Ohtani. Morosi added that the Angels have still not decided whether they will trade Ohtani or not, and their next couple of series against the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays could help them make that decision.
Both the Orioles and Diamondbacks are in similar positions — very young teams that are loaded with talent throughout both their MLB roster and their farm system.
The Orioles in particular are intriguing, as they have eight top-100 prospects in their farm system, which is tied for the most of any team in baseball on top of all the recently called up young talent at the Major League level.
Either team probably has the minor league talent it would take to trade for Ohtani. The question remains whether they would be willing to mortgage their future for a player in Ohtani who is set to enter free agency this coming offseason.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.