Shohei Ohtani rumors: Giants' interest shouldn't concern the Angels too much

The Los Angeles Angels do not have strong odds to bring Shohei Ohtani back. They can pitch comfortability and remaining with one team for his entire career all they want, but the bottom line is they simply haven't won.

If Ohtani prioritizes winning over anything else, he will not seriously consider the Angels, because they haven't even finished with a winning record in a single season while they've had him. Tough to hear, of course, but that's the reality.

While the Angels haven't won anything in recent years, another team Ohtani appears to be linked to, the San Francisco Giants, also haven't had much success. Yet, Jon Morosi of MLB Network proclaims San Francisco as a team prioritizing Shohei Ohtani and a team to watch ahead of next week's Winter Meetings.

Shohei Ohtani being rumored to the Giants makes little sense

For all of the success they've had since 2010, the Giants haven't done much since Shohei Ohtani joined the league. They've had one winning season and one playoff appearance. In the 2021 season they shocked the world by randomly winning 107 games only to lose in the NLDS and fail to record a winning season since.

The Giants went 79-83 this past season and fired Gabe Kapler as a result of that. They've finished in third place or worse in six of the last seven seasons, and there isn't reason to believe that'd change much even if they landed Ohtani. The Dodgers, arguably the gold standard in all of baseball, are in their division. The NL Champion Diamondbacks who will likely only improve are in their division. Even the Padres loom as threats.

Forget the lack of winning, even. Why would Ohtani want to hit in San Francisco? Oracle Park has the worst dimensions in the sport for a left-handed hitter. If Ohtani wants to put up the historic numbers he's been able to put up in Anaheim, that won't happen playing half the time in San Francisco. He'll hit more triples, but that's about it.

I get the connection. The Giants have money and are desperate, especially after missing out on Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa by narrow margins last offseason. They can get excited about the possibilities all they want, but Ohtani might as well stay in Anaheim if the money is similar. The Giants offer nothing the Angels couldn't offer in terms of winning and location.

Worry about the teams that can offer Ohtani something the Angels can't. Teams that can win are the threat. A team like the Giants in a similar situation as the Angels is not one fans should be worried about.