Ian Miller
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The Major League Baseball trade deadline is just a week away, and Shohei Ohtani speculation is in full force.
The Angels are expected to wait until just a day or two before the deadline to decide whether or not they want to trade baseball’s best player. But that hasn’t stopped several teams from reportedly checking in on his availability.
Rumors have suggested that the New York Yankees would be among the interested parties.
READ: DEREK JETER SUGGESTS YANKEES SHOULD MAKE MASSIVE TRADE AT THE DEADLINE
And given their status as prohibitive free agency favorites, the Los Angeles Dodgers have also been expected to check in. Although team owner Arte Moreno may not be interested in trading Ohtani to the actual Los Angeles market.
Except that according to MLB’s Jon Morosi, those aren’t the first two teams making calls to the Angels front office. Instead it’s the…Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks?
Morosi reported Monday, “Sources: Orioles, DBacks among teams inquiring with the Angels about Shohei Ohtani’s trade availability. Both clubs’ interest has been described as due diligence; both teams have the young talent base conducive to making a trade.”
Could Shohei Ohtani Wind Up In Baltimore Or Phoenix?
Morosi’s right; both the Orioles and Diamondbacks have the youth and prospect depth required to make an Ohtani deal work.
But it would be dramatically out of character for either organization to take such a massive swing.
The Diamondbacks for much of June and into July seemed to take control of the NL West. But a 2-8 stretch coupled with the Dodgers’ resurgence has put them four games out of first. Although they remain squarely in contention for one of three wild card spots.
Arizona is more commonly known for trading stars, not acquiring them. They infamously traded homegrown fan favorite Paul Goldschmidt to the Cardinals and Zack Greinke to the Astros.
Baltimore, similarly, has focused primarily on building from within and low-cost free agency additions. Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman have led a surprising Orioles team to contention.
Incredibly, the Orioles have a 2.5 game lead over the once-invincible Tampa Bay Rays, putting them squarely in “buy” mode. But would they really buy as big as Shohei Ohtani?
For both teams, an argument could be made that now’s the time to go big. The lack of free spending payrolls means neither will be players for Ohtani in free agency; two months of a season is all they could realistically get.
That said, jeopardizing future possibilities by trading prospects in hopes of chasing a few extra wins down the stretch also carries risk. The exact type of risk that makes these two teams confusing potential Ohtani trade partners.
