2 reasons the Angels will be trade deadline buyers, 2 to make them sellers

Heading into the 2023 season, it felt like the Los Angeles Angels were going to obviously be trade deadline buyers. Despite the long playoff drought, this felt like the year the Angels would at least be competitive enough to try and add to their roster and attempt to entice Shohei Ohtani to stick around for the long haul.

This season has seen the Angels land somewhere in between. They've stuck at or a couple games over .500 for most of the season. We've seen so many games which the Angels have thrown away whether it's because of their defense, poor base running, a bad bullpen, or just poor fundamentals.

It feels like if the Angels add to this team they're capable of making a run if they can play mistake-free baseball, but we haven't seen any evidence that they're even able to do that.

Two reasons stick out the most as to why the Angels will be trade deadline buyers. Another pair point toward a potential status as trade deadline sellers.

LA Angels will be trade deadline buyers because Arte Moreno wants to do whatever it takes to keep Shohei Ohtani

The Angels have two legitimate options in my eyes. One, go all in. Trade prospects and try to win right now with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The other option is to trade Ohtani and other expiring contracts for more young pieces. The one thing they cannot do is do nothing. Don't keep Ohtani just to go halfway in.

I tend to lean towards trading Shohei Ohtani but with Arte Moreno in charge, it feels like that's beyond a longshot. As long as the Angels are relevant by the deadline, it feels like Ohtani will be here.

It's no secret that Ohtani is the most valuable asset in baseball. He's not only the best player, but he's also the most marketable by far. Trading Ohtani means a massive dip in tickets purchased and team revenue. Trading Ohtani would mean Moreno taking a massive hit towards his bottom line.

I personally couldn't care less about how much Moreno profits off of the Angels, but we all know that he cares. He has proven that making money has always been his top priority. He simply will not make money this season if he trades Ohtani, and he's too near-sighted to see the benefits that come with trading him.

Moreno will want Ohtani around for his checkbook. He'll add to this team and try to win before Ohtani likely dashes for another destination this offseason.

LA Angels will be trade deadline buyers because they will be relevant by August 1

The one way the Angels will become deadline sellers is if they're completely out of the playoff picture. It feels like they're out of it in the AL West as the Halos sit nine games back of the first place Rangers, but they'll always be good enough to be relevant enough in the Wild Card hunt.

The Halos are five games back of the New York Yankees for the third Wild Card spot, and that's with a soft part of their schedule coming up. With the Angels having success against poor competition they will in all likelihood gain ground over the next couple of weeks.

Twice this season we've seen the Angels get as high as five games above .500 while we've seen them be as low as one game below .500 a handful of times. With the Angels not being worse than one game below .500, it feels like they'll always be just relevant enough to buy.

Moreno has gone on the record saying if the Angels are competitive, Ohtani isn't going anywhere. As long as Ohtani isn't going anywhere, the Angels aren't selling.

All you need to do with this playoff format is steal the third Wild Card spot. The Phillies did that last season and made it all the way to the World Series. Their opponent in the NLCS, the Padres, were the second Wild Card team. All you have to do is get in. If the Angels are relevant enough, this will be the argument they'll make. All signs point to them being just relevant enough.

LA Angels can become trade deadline sellers because the risk with Ohtani is too great

Let's say the Angels continue to play how they've played all season and continue to hover around .500. Do you really think adding a starting pitcher and a reliever gets this team where they want to be? They have to outlast four of the Astros, Orioles, Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Mariners just to make the postseason assuming Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Texas win their respective divisions.

With the way the Angels have played this season especially against quality competition, it's hard to see this happening. Is the risk worth it?

Shohei Ohtani is a free agent at season's end. You won't get a Juan Soto type of package for him, but you can absolutely get a couple of high-end prospects from a team trying to win right now. You're going to risk potentially missing the playoffs and watching Ohtani leave for nothing when you could add multiple key pieces to help your franchise turn this thing around?

I love Shohei Ohtani. He's the best player I've ever seen and is the best player on the planet. Nobody will do what he's done in an Angels uniform. As hard as it'd be to see him go, it'd be 100-times harder to watch him walk in exchange for nothing more than a draft pick.

It's unlikely Arte Moreno sees this based on how he's continued to answer Ohtani-related questions, but the one thing they cannot have happen is watching this team miss the postseason and watch Ohtani leave for nothing.