Alex Rodriguez had a wild idea for how to save the Angels, that includes Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He’s right about it, too.
“The Angels win a championship in five years if they do this,” Rodriguez said. “First, you trade Ohtani, then you trade Trout… and you try to get five or six players, load up with first rounders. And the next thing that you have to do is bring in a guy like Theo Epstein, give him ownership and let him run the shop. And that move has to come first and then follow up. I don’t think you have the time, but that would be the move.”
The crew give their thoughts on if the Angels should trade Shohei Ohtani@kevinburkhardt | @AROD | @davidortiz | @derekjeter pic.twitter.com/pSuQWCqzlv
— Flippin' Bats Podcast (@FlippinBatsPod) July 10, 2023
Alex Rodriguez is bold but right
Yeah, that’s a pretty bold statement. It doesn’t mean he’s wrong, though.
The Angels are possibly in the worst predicament in league history currently. They have the greatest baseball player in the world in their locker room and on their field every night, while right beside him, sits arguably the second-best player in the league in Trout. It feels preposterous to even consider that this team continues to get left out of the playoffs every year. That’s when you then start to ponder on what the Angels would look like without either one of them.
And that’s the point Rodriguez was trying to convey. The Angels need more than just two players, no matter how good those two players are. They need a team.
“Arguably you could say these are two of the best assets in the game,” Rodriguez said, referring to Ohtani and Trout. “You haven’t been good for the last 10 years, and you have an asset where you can go out and reload.”
If the Angels can’t win with two of the best players in the league, then they’re virtually in the same position without them, only that if they trade both of them, they could potentially build a future without them. And possibly a much better one at that.
The Angels could be better without Ohtani and Trout in the future
Ohtani and Trout are assets, and now the Angels need to start strongly considering selling these assets in order to rebuild their organization.
If Angels’ GM Perry Minasian really believes that he can resign Ohtani after this season, maybe that should be cause for his firing alone.
“Those feelings get stronger year-by-year,” Shohei Ohtani’s translator said, via SNY. “It sucks to lose. He wants to win, so it gets stronger every year.”
Ohtani wants to win, plain and simple. And he’s not going to with the Angels. Ohtani is as good as gone.
This Angels’ squad is far, far off from competing for a World Series. They have the third-worst farm system in the league, with a current roster at the major league level that is filled with holes from the starting lineup going all that way through the starting rotation, finishing at the bullpen. If Minasian is any sort of a business manager, he has to know that a return for not only Ohtani, but Trout as well, could produce major dividends in the long term.
“But if you sign him [Ohtani], you gonna talk about a billion dollars in two players… at least. And I don’t see a team doing that,” David Ortiz said.
The Angels can’t afford Ohtani, one way or another. And while it seems crazy to then consider trading Trout in the process, it would be the best move for the organization. That is, of course, if Trout would agree to a trade given that he has a no-trade clause in his contract.
Minasian’s popularity in the Anaheim area might take a significant hit if this scenario were to unfold. Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge that this idea holds the key to the Angels’ eventual return to the playoffs. By retaining both Ohtani and Trout, the team not only squanders their immense talents but also undermines their collective potential as a team. Relying solely on two exceptional players, even if they are among the greatest of all time, cannot single-handedly rescue this organization.
