LA Angels have "no appetite" to trade Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Angels are fortunate to roster two of the best players on the planet in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The Angels have Trout locked up through the year 2030. He will most likely retire a Halo.

Ohtani on the other hand is not locked up. The Angels signed him to a one-year $30 million dollar deal to avoid arbitration but following the 2023 season he will be a free agent.

SNY's Andy Martino is reporting that the Angels have "no appetite" to trade Ohtani this offseason. They will look to extend him and if one is not agreed upon by the trade deadline then they will re-assess.

The LA Angels are making a mistake being completely closed off to any Shohei Ohtani trade.

If the Angels have any dream of competing in 2023, Shohei Ohtani will have to be on the roster. He's an elite hitter and pitcher, if they traded him then they'd essentially be losing two MVP candidates.

The Angels top priority this offseason should absolutely be signing Ohtani to a monster extension that keeps him in Anaheim for many years.

Ohtani has already expressed some displeasure with how the 2022 season went and he very well might not want to extend. If that is the case, the Angels must explore trades this offseason.

The Angels would be risking a lot by waiting until the deadline to decide if they want to trade Ohtani.

If Ohtani gets hurt, there's essentially no deal to even be made. Pitchers can get hurt at any moment, especially ones who can throw 100 mph with devastating off-speed stuff like Ohtani.

Second, waiting until the deadline to deal him undoubtedly lessens the return. Ohtani's expiring contract status already limits what the Angels would get for him. As much as I'd like them to get a package Juan Soto got the Nationals, that won't be happening. Waiting until the deadline when the team that acquires him only has him for two months lessens the return even more.

The Angels won 73 games this past season with Ohtani staying fully healthy and Trout playing in more games than he had in any season since 2019. While I expect them to be better, a lot has to go right for the Angels to compete for a playoff spot. The argument for holding onto Ohtani would be to make a push for the playoffs but I'm not sure the Angels have the roster for that without spending a fortune in the offseason.

Again, I hope the Angels find a way to extend Ohtani. I think he's the best player in the game and is the kind of player we will never see again. If Ohtani says that he will not sign an extension before Opening Day, I think the Angels have to trade him. It's the only way they can ensure getting anything close to what he's actually worth. Chances are if they can't get him to extend now, he likely won't want to after the season or before the deadline.