Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian stated just two weeks ago that he’d be unlikely to trade the transcendental Shohei Ohtani “with where [we’re] at in the standings.”
With the two-way superstar’s contract up at the end of the season, it was clear that the Angels were willing to let things play out this winter as long as they were still in playoff contention.
Those comments came on June 21 when the Angels were in second place in the AL West and five games behind the division-leading Houston Astros.
Since then, the Texas Rangers have gotten red-hot and zoomed past the field to take the top spot in the division while the Angels have lost seven of their last 10 to drop to third. At just 45-44, they’re seven games out of the division lead and four games back of the final American League Wild Card spot.
They’re still very much in the mix, but the last week hasn’t been kind to them.
Mike Trout had surgery to repair a hamate fracture and will miss at least a month. Anthony Rendon was seen on crutches after suffering a shin injury. Ohtani himself is dealing with a finger blister, though he managed to play throughout the Padres’ sweep of his squad.
The Angels have two games before the All-Star break, which comes across Los Angeles against the Dodgers where Ohtani and his manager are putting an awful lot of stress on things.
“The games from now to the All-Star break are the most important,” Ohtani said (h/t Sarah Valenzuela, Los Angeles Timers). “If we can win in good form, I think we very much have a chance.”
Angels manager Phil Nevin even went as far as to say that the two-game set could be a “defining” moment in his team’s season.
Two more losses put them under .500 heading into the break, and an ensuing swoon could prompt Minasian to shift his philosophy regarding Ohtani before the trade deadline.
Not only would it send Major League Baseball into a frenzy, but it would reignite a now-dormant rumor mill that has long linked the Mets to one of the greatest talents the game has ever seen. The 29-year-old is batting .296 with 31 home runs and a 1.033 OPS while sporting a 3.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 100.1 innings of work on the mound.
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