Five Teams That Have The Talent To Trade For Shohei Ohtani

Image credit: Shohei Ohtani (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

In all likelihood, Shohei Ohtani will not be traded.

The Angels are 49-48 and only four-and-a-half games back of an American League wild card spot. They just swept the Yankees and have a manageable stretch coming up with their next six games against the sub-.500 Pirates and Tigers. They are operating as buyers, not sellers, as evidenced by their trades for Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas last month.

From the beginning, the only chance the Angels were ever going to trade Ohtani was if they were so far out of a playoff spot they had no chance of making the postseason. With just under two weeks remaining until the Aug. 1 trade deadline, that’s not where they stand. Barring a total collapse over their final 11 games between now and the deadline—think going 1-10 and falling 10 games out of a playoff spot—Ohtani will remain an Angel.

In the unlikely event such a collapse occurs and the Angels decide to trade Ohtani, certain teams are better positioned to acquire him than others. Even though Ohtani would be a rental who is a free agent at the end of the season, the cost to acquire him will be massive.

Ohtani is simultaneously the most dangerous hitter in baseball and, as long as his recent blister issues don’t linger, a front-of-the-rotation ace. His value extends beyond the field with the increased visibility, marketing opportunities and merchandise sales he brings to any team. Based on recent precedent, acquiring Ohtani would, at minimum, cost two recently-graduated or close-to-the-majors Top 100 Prospects, another top 10 prospect in an organization and an additional low-level prospect with upside. In reality, it would probably take even more for the Angels to part with him.

Only a select few teams actually have the combination of young big leaguers and top prospects to meet that price. Here are the teams best positioned to acquire Ohtani if the Angels make him available, ranked by the organizational talent they possess.  

1. Dodgers

The Dodgers have the deepest farm system in baseball and can meet any demand. They have six Top 100 Prospects in RHP Bobby Miller, RHP Emmet Sheehan, C Dalton Rushing, RHP Gavin Stone, C Diego Cartaya and 2B Michael Busch and possess the best collection of pitching prospects in baseball. With Miller and Sheehan in the majors, RHPs Ryan Pepiot, Landon Knack and Stone at Triple-A, RHPs Nick Nastrini, Kyle Hurt, River Ryan and Nick Frasso at Double-A, LHPs Maddux Bruns, Justin Wrobleski and Ronan Kopp at High-A and RHPs Peter Heubeck and Payton Martin at Low-A, the Dodgers are overflowing with young arms. 2B Miguel Vargas struggled in his debut but still projects to be an impact hitter long term, and OFs Andy Pages (currently recovering from shoulder surgery) and Josue De Paula further add to the Dodgers position player depth. Angels owner Arte Moreno has publicly expressed his displeasure at dealing with the Dodgers and is unlikely to approve trading his star to an in-market competitor, but from a pure talent perspective, the Dodgers have the most to offer of any team.

2. Orioles

The Orioles have the best young position player core in the game and plenty of ammunition to make a deal. C Adley Rutschman, 3B/SS Gunnar Henderson and top prospect SS Jackson Holliday aren’t going anywhere, but the Orioles still have plenty of appealing young talent. OF Colton Cowser, SS/3B Jordan Westburg, 3B Coby Mayo, OF Heston Kjerstad and SS Joey Ortiz are all Top 100 Prospects in Triple-A or the majors, C Samuel Basallo is a fast-rising Top 100 prospect in the lower levels and 1B Ryan Mountcastle, OF Austin Hays and OF Cedric Mullins are all established, controllable major leaguers. The Orioles realistically won’t deal Hays or Mullins and need to keep what little starting pitching they have in young RHPs Tyler Wells, Kyle Bradish (a former Angels prospect) and Grayson Rodriguez. Even so, they still have the young position players to make a compelling offer for Ohtani if they choose.

3. Rangers

The odds of the Angels trading Ohtani to a division rival are slim to none, but the Rangers have the talent to pull off a deal in theory. 3B Josh Jung, OF Leody Taveras and SS/OF Ezequiel Duran make up a strong collection of young big leaguers—although none realistically will be moved—and OF Evan Carter, 2B Luisangel Acuña, SS Sebastian Walcott and RHP Owen White are all Top 100 Prospects who can help lead a trade package. 2B Justin Foscue, 1B Dustin Harris and SS/2B Thomas Saggesse are all impressing in the upper levels and OF Anthony Gutierrez, RHPs Brock Porter and Aidan Curry and LHP Mitch Bratt lead an intriguing collection of Rangers prospects in the lower levels. Even with RHP Jack Leiter struggling and RHP Kumar Rocker recovering from Tommy John surgery, the Rangers have the talent to acquire Ohtani if they want to be aggressive.

4. Phillies

The defending National League champions have quietly surged into wild card position, and the addition of Ohtani would give them both one of the most formidable lineups and rotation trios in the NL. The Phillies have a strong group of productive young big leaguers in 3B/1B Alec Bohm, 2B Bryson Stott and OF Brandon Marsh, who they acquired from the Angels just last year, as well as a solid farm system even with RHP Andrew Painter recommended for Tommy John surgery. Hard-throwing RHPs Mick Abel, Griff McGarry and Orion Kerkering and athletic OFs Justin Crawford, Johan Rojas and Simon Muzziotti are all talented players who could be packaged in some combination with one of their young big leaguers to acquire Ohtani. Whether the Phillies would actually do that is another question, but strictly in terms of talent, they have the personnel to get a deal done.

5. Reds

The Reds realistically aren’t ready to make such a win-now move, but from a talent standpoint, they have the players to make a deal. SS/3B Elly De La Cruz isn’t going anywhere, but SS/2B Matt McLain and LHP Andrew Abbott lead a collection of talented young big leaguers who could lead a trade package. The Reds farm system remains stocked with recently recalled 3B/1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B Noelvi Marte and RHP Connor Phillips, among others, and the lower levels of the system are filled with talented players who could be complementary trade pieces. The Reds have been in cost-cutting mode for years and aren’t likely to trade away cornerstones of their rebuild for a rental, even one as talented as Ohtani, but purely on talent, they have the young big leaguers and prospects to make a deal.

Others

The Rays desperately need starting pitching and have five Top 100 Prospects in SS Junior Caminero, SS Carson Williams, RHP Shane Baz, 2B Curtis Mead and 1B Kyle Manzardo, as well as a deep group of talented position player prospects beyond them led by SS Osleivis Basabe, 2B Jonathan Aranda and 1B Xavier Isaac. The Rays, however, are rarely active buyers at the deadline, with Nelson Cruz (2021) and Tommy Pham (2018) their only major deadline acquisitions in the last five years.

The Padres still have high-end prospect talent even after all of their headline trades, with SS Jackson Merrill, C Ethan Salas, RHP Dylan Lesko and LHP Robby Snelling all among the Top 50 prospects and RHPs Jairo Iriarte and Adam Mazur impressing beyond them. The Padres are 6.5 games out of a wild card spot and 9.5 games back in the division, though, and how aggressive they’ll be will largely be determined by their performance between now and the deadline.

The Yankees are spiraling with nine losses in their last 11 games and don’t have the young talent to match what other teams can offer for Ohtani. They have no Top 50 prospects and only one controllable young big leaguer in Anthony Volpe, who they won’t trade for a rental.  

The Giants and D-backs are in NL wild card position and could sneak into the Ohtani sweepstakes if other teams don’t make their best offers. The Giants could build a package around young OF Luis Matos and one of prospect LHPs Kyle Harrison and Carson Whisenhunt, while the D-backs can pull together a combination involving OF Alek Thomas, SS Jordan Lawlar and/or RHPs Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt and Drew Jameson as the headliners.