Los Angeles Angels

With the Los Angeles Angels on the verge of missing the playoffs for the eighth straight year, other MLB teams are reportedly seeking them out for trade discussions. However, it won't be easy to pry away one of their stars.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Angels have received calls regarding two-way star Shohei Ohtani, but Los Angeles "would seek established major leaguers" in return as opposed to prospects, in hopes of "trying to fulfill their goal of returning to the postseason as quickly as possible."

The Angels' approach is somewhat different from other franchises. Rosenthal pointed to another team fielding trade offers for a star: the Washington Nationals. In discussions for outfielder Juan Soto, the Nationals are reportedly seeking "a combination of prospects and major leaguers with low service time" to try to build for the future.

"To meet that price, one club official said, 'you would have to rip up your farm system,'" Rosenthal wrote.

By reportedly seeking established MLB stars in exchange for Ohtani or outfielder Mike Trout, the Angels in essence would be asking a contender to shred its major league roster. It's unlikely that a team in the running for a pennant would be willing to meet their asking price.

Rosenthal noted that "if the Angels are going to move Ohtani, it probably would not happen until this offseason, when teams would be in better position to replace players they trade." However, he added that it's hard to imagine Los Angeles receiving equal compensation for the reining American League MVP.

Ohtani earned his second straight All-Star selection this year and is batting .256 with 20 home runs and 57 RBI. He's been one of the few bright spots in a difficult season for Los Angeles.

The Angels snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday with a 9-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. It was just their second win in their last 12 games. Los Angeles is fourth in the AL West with a 40-55 record.

Trading Ohtani might have seemed like an impossible scenario at the start of the year. But amid another season of struggles, it might be time for the Angels to retool their roster and use one of their stars to acquire assets.

Los Angeles Angels superstar outfielder Mike Trout will not return from a rib injury when he's eligible to be activated off the injured list Monday, per ESPN.

Trout has not played since July 12 because of rib cage inflammation and received a cortisone injection in his back Thursday, head athletic trainer Mike Frostad told reporters Saturday.

"The injection was done into the joint where the rib meets up with the spine," Frostad said. "So it's kind of a difficult area to get to and he just has to let that cortisone take effect. He's doing some stuff right now that doesn't involve rotation."

Trout, who has been dealing with the rib ailment since the beginning of the month, has been labeled as day-to-day.

The 30-year-old veteran is enjoying another huge statistical season in 2022, hitting .270/.368/.599 with 24 home runs, 51 RBI and one stolen base in 79 games.

Trout first became recognized as one of baseball's elite players a decade ago when he won the American League Rookie of the Year award and finished second in AL MVP voting in 2012.

That season began a remarkable run for Trout, who has since been named an All-Star nine times, won three AL MVP awards and eight Silver Slugger awards.

Trout also finished fifth or better in the MVP voting in nine straight years from 2012 to 2020. That included four second-place finishes in addition to his three MVP wins.

The only thing that has held back Trout at all during his career is a history of injuries, particularly since 2017.

After appearing in at least 157 games in four straight seasons from 2013 to 2016, Trout missed at least 22 games in four of the next five campaigns.

Trout was limited to 114 games in 2017 because of a thumb injury and played in just 36 games last season after suffering a torn calf muscle.

When healthy, Trout has consistently put up MVP-caliber levels of production, as he entered 2022 with six 30-homer and two 40-homer seasons to his credit, as well as three 100-RBI campaigns and three seasons with 30 or more stolen bases.

Trout is paramount to the Angels' success, and it speaks volumes about the supporting cast around him that the Angels have largely struggled as a team in recent years even with him in the fold.

There is no replacing a player of Trout's stature, but if he misses time, the Angels will need even more offensively out of 2021 MLB MVP Shohei Ohtani, as well as the likes of Jared Walsh and Taylor Ward.

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout will captain the United States at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸@MikeTrout will compete and serve as team Captain for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic! pic.twitter.com/2oUpIGRWEm

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 18, 2022

Team USA enters the next installment of the WBC as the defending champion. Trout declined the opportunity to join the 2017 squad but left the door open for future competitions.

Trout's decision in 2017 was emblematic of how many American stars didn't hold the World Baseball Classic in high esteem.

The competition is also too young—the first tournament was staged in 2006—to mean much from a legacy perspective.

If MLB's best player is getting on board, though, the perception among his peers might be shifting. His inclusion might also send a strong message to those who were on the fence about whether they'd suit up.

Having Trout will be a massive boost for Team USA's offense. The 30-year-old earned his 10th All-Star nod this season. Through 79 games, he has a .270/.368/.599 slash line along with 24 home runs and a 170 OPS+, per Baseball Reference. His 3.8 WAR is tied for 10th among position players on FanGraphs.

Imagine if USA Baseball can also secure commitments from some combination of Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge. On the strength of its outfield alone, the U.S. could have one of the stronger lineups in the 2023 WBC.

Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout shot down speculation he'd seek a trade amid the team's frustrating first half of the 2022 MLB season.

The three-time American League MVP, who signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract in 2019, said he remains committed to the Angels despite the club's seven-year playoff drought and current 37-45 record.

"I signed the contract, and this is where I want to be," Trout said Tuesday, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. "A lot of people are like, 'Oh, he wants to be traded. Do this. Do that.' I want to win. Everybody knows that. Going into the year, this isn't where we wanted to be, obviously. Everybody knows that. We've still got time to turn this around."

The fact L.A. features arguably baseball's two best players, Trout and two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, and still hasn't been able to build a consistent winner has reached meme status.

Mike Trout has homered tonight. Shohei Ohtani is 3-3 with a home run, 2 doubles and a walk. And the Angels trail 10-4. Incredible.

— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) June 29, 2022

Injuries have been a factor, most notably this year the loss of Anthony Rendon to season-ending wrist surgery, but the front office's inability to build roster depth around its core duo is the source of the issue.

The emergence of outfielder Taylor Ward has provided a little boost, but he's the only Angels hitter outside of Trout and Ohtani who's compiled a WAR over 1.0 so far this season, per FanGraphs.

Trout wasn't willing to place the blame on the shoulders of general manager Perry Minasian and Co., though.

"Obviously, this isn't the way they wanted it," he said. "I know it's not. They've got a winning mindset up there. They are doing everything they can to put a winning team out there. We've gotta go out there and play. That's the biggest thing. It falls on the players. We're not performing."

It's a diplomatic response, but the reality is the front office's efforts have fallen short.

Coming off a 77-85 season, the Angels' biggest offseason additions were Noah Syndergaard, Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera. They represented a modest boost to the pitching staff, but no significant changes were made to an offense that ranked 17th in runs scored last year.

L.A. has slid to 25th in runs so far in 2022 and would likely need multiple high-profile offensive additions before the Aug. 2 trade deadline to turn things around.

Yet, Trout has steered clear of any type of trade talk by pointing toward his contract, which runs through 2030.

While it's possible he'll stick with the Halos for the duration of his deal, it's also fair to wonder whether he'll eventually grow impatient with a franchise that's been unable to put him in position to seriously chase a World Series title while at the peak of his powers.

In the short term, the Angels will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak Wednesday night when Ohtani takes the mound against Trevor Rogers and the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park.

Major League Baseball suspended Seattle Mariners outfielder Jesse Winker and 11 others for their roles in Sunday's brawl between the Mariners and Los Angeles Angels.

Angels manager Phil Nevin was suspended 10 games, Winker was suspended seven games and Anthony Rendon was suspended five games:

There are a total of 12 people who have been disciplined for yesterdays brawl between the Angels and Mariners: pic.twitter.com/PXNGV3o1vg

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) June 28, 2022

Nevin, Chiti and Del Campo will begin serving tonight. Montgomery and Haselman will both serve when Chiti returns from suspension.

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) June 28, 2022

Ryan Tepera and Raisel Iglesias are appealing their suspensions. Andrew Wantz is not.

No word yet on Anthony Rendon. His suspension doesn't start till next season, but he still could appeal to get it reduced.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) June 28, 2022

The genesis of the brawl may have come in the Mariners' 5-3 win over the Angels on Saturday. In the process of earning the save, Erik Swanson drew the ire of Mike Trout when he threw a fastball up and in.

In the first inning of Sunday's contest, Andrew Wantz appeared to get some retribution when his 93 mph fastball flew behind Julio Rodriguez. That resulted in a warning issued to both teams.

Things escalated in the second inning when Wantz hit Winker with a fastball to the lower body.

Winker had words with Angels catcher Max Stassi before walking toward the Los Angeles dugout. That sparked a benches-clearing brawl that far exceeded what fans typically see in an on-field scrape.

Benches clear!!! 👊@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/EUnTTcjW1D

— FanDuel Sports Network West (@FanDuelSN_West) June 26, 2022

Even Rendon, who recently underwent season-ending wrist surgery, was involved. And when tempers were beginning to cool, another shoving match began.

Once the teams were dispatched to their respective dugouts, Angels closer Raisel Iglesias added to the spectacle when he tossed a box of sunflower seeds onto the field and yelled across at Winker, his former teammate on the Cincinnati Reds.

Iglesias prefers spitz@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/e75Wac3orB

— FanDuel Sports Network West (@FanDuelSN_West) June 26, 2022

Winker also made sure to say goodbye to the Angel Stadium crowd by letting them know they were No. 1.

Jesse Winker probably going to get a decent suspension pic.twitter.com/rGETjkVFdw

— Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) June 26, 2022

By the time all was said and done, four representatives each from Los Angeles and Seattle were ejected from the game. The Angels were 2-1 winners thanks to a solo home run from Luis Rengifo and an RBI single by David MacKinnon.

In the immediate aftermath, it quickly became clear suspensions were inevitable and potentially lengthy ones for the biggest instigators in the brawl.

The teams are finally separating. Winker is yelling at the Angels crowd. He is being held back from going at the Angels again. There will obviously be ejections -- and eventually suspensions. A lot of punches were thrown.

— Scott Hanson (@shansonSeaTimes) June 26, 2022

MLB is going to have to do some Zapruder-like film analysis to figure out who did what when they are levying fines and suspensions.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) June 26, 2022

That was particularly troublesome for the Mariners, who had been building some positive momentum with a five-game winning streak prior to their loss Sunday.

Losing any regulars added more misery for the Angels, too. They've yet to recover from the 14-game losing streak that sent their season spiraling.

The Los Angeles Angels announced Friday that third baseman Anthony Rendon will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a right wrist injury.

Rendon was removed from Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers after re-aggravating a wrist injury that had previously landed him on the injured list.

The 32-year-old Rendon was hitting .228 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 45 games this season.

In his second season with the Angels in 2021, Rendon missed 104 games amid multiple injuries. The Angels were plagued with several injuries in a disappointing campaign that also saw Mike Trout miss most of the season—Shohei Ohtani emerged as the American League MVP.

Before signing a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Angels prior to the 2020 season, Rendon spent seven years with the Washington Nationals.

During that stint, Rendon was a one-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner who played a significant role in the Nats winning the 2019 World Series.

Rendon has not appeared in more than 58 games in a season with the Angels, however, and L.A. must figure out how to thrive without him once again.

Due to a long losing streak that led to the firing of manager Joe Maddon, the Angels are just 30-35.

With Rendon out, the Angels will need even more out of Trout and Ohtani, plus Matt Duffy is the top candidate to fill in at third base moving forward.

Los Angeles starting pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani could be in line for a contract worth four years and $200 million, per an MLB executive's comments to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

"One rival executive said he believes there are likely many teams that would pay him about $200 million for four years," Heyman wrote.

"Teams prefer not to go too deep into the 30s now, but if there’s a feeling Ohtani’s double duty may wear him down earlier than normal, that’s nothing more than a guess."

The 27-year-old Ohtani is hitting .259 (.820 OPS) with 13 home runs and 37 RBI. On the mound, Ohtani is 4-4 with a 3.64 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 54.1 innings.

Ohtani signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract before the 2021 season. He is eligible for arbitration in 2023 and free agency in 2024.

The 2021 American League MVP is clearly one of the most valuable players in the game. Last season, Ohtani cracked 46 home runs with 100 RBI while posting a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 23 starts.

The Angels are in a tough spot with Ohtani. They opened this year with a $188.6 million payroll, or the eighth-highest in Major League Baseball, per Cot's Contracts.

Even with Ohtani, superstar Mike Trout, breakout star Taylor Ward and four starting pitchers with sub-four ERA, the Angels are floundering at 29-35. They've endured a 14-game losing streak, and manager Joe Maddon has been fired.

The Angels will have to break the bank for him, and as Heyman noted, it presents an issue.

It’s a conundrum for sure. Ohtani has enhanced the brand and posted a 9.0 WAR (in 2021) via MVP heroics on both sides of the ball. If he isn’t the best player in the game, he certainly is the biggest talent, and also the most remarkable. Yet, the team isn’t in playoff position again, and raising Ohtani’s pay by tenfold wouldn’t help balance out a team already short on pitching and depth.

On the flip side, the simple and easy answer is to pay Ohtani, because he's one of the greatest talents baseball has ever seen. The Angels may be struggling, but they'd be in far worse shape without him.

For now, the Angels are looking to somehow dig their way out of a 2-18 slide. They open a five-game road series against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

Nate Tomlinson, the home plate umpire for Tuesday's game between the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers, left the field in the ninth inning after being struck in the face by a shard from Mike Trout's broken bat.

"In the mask, the broken part of the bat, that was really scary," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters. "I heard that it hit his nose, Nate. And so that's, I guess, the best-case scenario. A very scary moment."

Scary moment in LA.

The home plate umpire is struck in the face by Mike Trout's broken bat 😳 https://t.co/8pieLT7mKB

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 15, 2022

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported further information Wednesday:

Home-plate umpire Nate Tomlinson was taken to the emergency room Tuesday night after being struck in the face by Mike Trout's broken bat, with a piece flying between bars of his mask, cutting his face just above his eye and nose. He managed to avoid serious injury, his crew says.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 15, 2022

His departure came with one out in the top of the ninth. Crew chief Laz Diaz moved from second base to behind the plate.

Trout recorded a broken-bat single on the play as the Angels tried to rally from a 2-0 deficit. Shohei Ohtani followed with a double and Matt Duffy walked to load the bases, but Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel struck out Jared Walsh and Max Stassi to secure the win.

Mookie Betts hit his 17th home run of the season for the Dodgers, while starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin tossed 6.1 scoreless innings to improve his record to 8-0.

"Felt good," Gonsolin said. "I definitely wanted to stay out there. When it's my day to pitch I've got to go as long as I can."

The L.A. teams wrap up a two-game series Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

In a typical rotation, Tomlinson would be the third base umpire if available.

Even after the Los Angeles Angels wasted nearly a decade's worth of Mike Trout's prime, he wasn't any less willing to sign a mega-extension when they presented him with one in March 2019.

Will Shohei Ohtani extend the same courtesy before the end of his club control in 2023?

This was a fair question coming into the 2022 season, and even more so now in the wake of what Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Tuesday about recent contract talks between the MVP-winning ace/slugger and the Angels.

Think Aaron Judge’s contract situation is fascinating?

It’s child’s play, compared to what lies ahead with Shohei Ohtani.@Ken_Rosenthal has the details: https://t.co/37ypf7mT9D pic.twitter.com/KLSLjukqLT

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 14, 2022

Per Rosenthal, the Angels had "informal discussions" with Ohtani's camp about a possible extension during the spring. They did so with an "understanding" that a deal would have to surpass Max Scherzer's record-setting average annual value of $43.3 million, and yet the talks still "never gained traction."

After blasting 46 home runs and racking up 156 strikeouts in 130.1 innings amid the best two-way season in major league history in 2021, Ohtani indicated this January that he didn't want to discuss his next contract until after his current $8.5 million pact wraps up at the end of this season. He had also previously hinted that money isn't necessarily his top priority.

"But more than that, I want to win," the 27-year-old said last September, per Sam Blum of The Athletic. "That's the biggest thing for me. So, I'll leave it at that."

The Angels haven't been so good at winning in recent years, and so it goes in 2022. Their 24-13 start has given way to a 5-21 slide, with the lowlights being a 14-game losing streak and the firing of manager Joe Maddon. Barring a turnaround under interim manager Phil Nevin, the Angels are on track to finish below .500 for the seventh time in as many years.

None of this would seem conducive to the Angels and Ohtani striking a deal any time soon. Which brings us to yet another fair question: Is there any reason to believe the Angels will defy the odds and get something done anyway?

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Ohtani's Stock Is Down...Or Is It?

Maybe—and we really can't stress the word "maybe" enough—Ohtani will get so anxious about waiting to cash in on the 2023-24 market that he'll sell himself short ahead of time?

He's not the same player in 2022 that he was in 2021, and that goes for both sides of the ball. In '21, he ranked 21st in rWAR for both his hitting and his hurling. In '22, he's down to 102nd among position players and 54th among pitchers.

Ohtani, the hitter, is experiencing some regression to the mean with his power. After hitting 17 home runs through his first 61 games of 2021, he's hit "only" 13 through his first 61 contests of 2022. Specifically, he's not making hard contact against non-fastballs like he did in '21:

Ohtani, the pitcher, has already given up eight home runs in 54.1 innings after surrendering just 15 over 130.1 innings in 2021. The most gasp-worthy development has been the sudden hittability of his trademark splitter:

• 2018-21: .075 AVG and 0 HR
• 2022: .175 AVG and 2 HR

So, there's the case for Ohtani to recognize that he peaked in 2021. And, in turn, to take what he can get from the Angels as soon as possible.

But is this a weak case? You bet it is.

The red flags that we highlighted above are more like nit-picks, as there just aren't any truly dire warning signs to be found in Ohtani's performance either at the plate or on the mound in 2022. If anything, he's made key strides by cutting down on strikeouts as a hitter, and by both increasing his strikeouts and decreasing his walks as a pitcher.

He otherwise remains the word "power" incarnate, whether he's hitting a ball at 119.1 mph:

ICYMI: Ohtani smacked the hardest hit of his career at 119.1 MPH!

(MLB x @GoogleCloud) pic.twitter.com/5j1XFX48X7

— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2022

Or throwing one at 101 mph:

Shohei Ohtani, 101mph ⛽️...and Fist pump. pic.twitter.com/D4fwpyxQOa

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 10, 2022

Rather than his results, Ohtani's expected metrics best capture just how little he's regressed from 2021 to 2022. Per xwOBA, for example, he's only down as a hitter from the 97th to the 90th percentile. As a pitcher, he's merely gone from the 81st to the 72nd percentile.

Granted, it remains difficult to put approximate figures on Ohtani's market value. Not just because there aren't any relevant precedents for two-way superstars, but also because the sheer unbelievability of Ohtani's present invites skepticism about his future. As Rosenthal wrote: "In some ways, the team's fear of losing [Ohtani] might be matched only by its fear of signing him to a lengthy agreement."

Even still, the notion that the Angels had about Ohtani's value this spring holds true. If he were to sign his next contract right now, it would have to be for record-setting money.

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The Angels' Future Looks...Not Great

Let's wind the clock back to May 15.

At that point, the positive vibes with which the Angels began their 2022 season had become overwhelmingly positive. They were off to their best start since the Vladimir Guerrero-led Angels of 2004, and their chances of making the playoffs had skyrocketed to over 80 percent, according to FanGraphs.

That was then. In the here and now, the damage rendered by their skid is the flaming building behind Detective Frank Drebin. The Angels have gone from a first-place tie with the Houston Astros in the American League West to a third-place standing and a 9.5-game deficit. Their playoff chances are down below 25 percent. As present realities go, not great.

As for the team's future, well, same thing.

The Angels' payroll is oddly structured. According to Spotrac, both Trout ($37.1 million) and Anthony Rendon ($36.6 million) account for more than 19 percent of the club's total salaries. Serious contenders don't typically have such top-heavy payrolls. To wit, only two teams since 2011 have made it to the World Series with 19 percent of their payrolls tied up in just one player: the 2019 Washington Nationals (Scherzer) and 2020 Tampa Bay Rays (Charlie Morton).

Neither Trout nor Rendon will come off the books and free up space for an Ohtani megadeal any time soon. Both are under contract through at least 2026, and their salaries loom so large that the Angels currently have more money committed to 2025 than any other team.

Perhaps that's an omen that 2025 will be the year that they'll start having the highest payrolls in the league, but that doesn't square with owner Arte Moreno's recent spending habits. Under his watch, the Angels haven't begun a year with even a top-five payroll since 2012.

To make an extension for Ohtani work—meaning, to not only sign his checks but also build a winning team around him—the Angels might have to clear payroll space by trading either Trout or Rendon. Given how much the latter has diminished over the last two years, a trade of the former is more practical. And yet, also more unthinkable for obvious reasons.

The only other viable alternative for the Angels would be to try to counter-balance the Ohtani-Trout-Rendon trio with a spectacular core of cheap, homegrown talent. But this, also, looks like an unlikely path forward.

Budding stars Brandon Marsh and Reid Detmers will be eligible for arbitration for the first time in 2025, while Taylor Ward, Jared Walsh and Patrick Sandoval will be several years into their arbitration cycles. The Angels would only be able to pinch so many pennies on those five, and perhaps on Jo Adell as well if he ever finds his footing in the majors.

Further, what the Angels have down on the farm right now isn't especially impressive. Frankly, it's downright bad. Our most recent farm system rankings put the Angels at No. 27, with not a single Tier 1 prospect amid their top 10 talents.

None of this means the Angels can't make Ohtani a competitive offer between now and the end of 2023. But if he truly cares about winning as much as he says, he shouldn't need any kind of prescription to see that his best chance to do so on a consistent basis lies elsewhere.

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Anticipating the Next Ohtani Sweepstakes

To be clear, the idea here isn't to imagine a potential trade sweepstakes for Ohtani. Perhaps there's a non-zero chance of the Angels giving him the Mookie Betts treatment ahead of his walk year in 2023, but we'll assume it's close to zero until there are reports to the contrary.

Rather, we're thinking ahead to what Ohtani's free-agent market could look like after '23.

This would technically be Ohtani's second trip out onto the open market. The first was when he came over as an amateur—and as such, had strict limitations on his earning power—from Japan in 2017, resulting in a sweepstakes that he eventually whittled down to seven finalists.

The Angels were obviously one, with the other six being deep-pocketed teams that could potentially make another run at him in Round 2 even though his asking price will be significantly higher: the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The only one of those latter six that has changed management since the first Ohtani sweepstakes is the Giants, but not in a way that would render their leadership unfamiliar to him. Back in 2017, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler were both with the Dodgers, while general manager Scott Harris was with the Cubs.

Considering that the Giants are currently building a strong farm system and have also cleared their post-2023 books of all but one guaranteed salary, they could once again be a strong contender for Ohtani. But so could the Dodgers, who have an even better farm system and Betts and Freddie Freeman to serve as superstar partners in crime for Ohtani.

As for the rest of the league, there would be the question of whether Ohtani would be any more willing to play on the East Coast than he was in 2017:

Cashman said that Ohtani’s reps told him they were very impressed with team’s presentation, but no matter how good it was, the Yankees couldn’t make themselves West Coast or a smaller market.

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) December 3, 2017

If not the New York Yankees, could the New York Mets change Ohtani's mind? Their front office is now run by Billy Eppler, who was the boss in Anaheim when the Angels signed Ohtani in 2017. And if Ohtani becomes dead-set on beating Scherzer's AAV record, well, who better to grant that wish than the owner who made that deal happen: Steve Cohen.

Of course, it's not out of the question that the Angels would also be in the mix to re-sign Ohtani as a free agent. But he's going to have at least as many options as he did in 2017, and potentially more if he broadens his horizons.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.