MLB executives name Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays as top landing spots for Ohtani: report
Posted July 25, 2023 5:46 pm.
Last Updated July 25, 2023 9:55 pm.
Could two-way MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani don a Toronto Blue Jays uniform by August 1? According to some executives, it’s certainly possible.
Citing multiple executives in the sport, MLB insider Jeff Passan wrote on Tuesday that the Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays are viewed as the top landing spots for Ohtani, who will be a highly-coveted free agent at season’s end.
Passan notes that the Blue Jays are a longer shot to acquire Ohtani due to a thinner farm system and a lack of top prospects compared to the Orioles and Rays, who possess some of the best young players in baseball.
Passan also mentioned that the Blue Jays haven’t done enough “to convince ownership to open up the coffers” and that they remain “in the muddled middle.”
Entering Tuesday night’s game in Los Angeles, the Blue Jays hold a 56-45 record, are six-and-a-half games back of the Orioles for the top spot in the division, and currently hold the third and final wild-card spot in the American League.
Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith touched on ESPN’s report, calling the Ohtani-to-the-Blue Jays speculation an unlikely outcome.
“None of the executives I’ve heard from have seriously suggested the Blue Jays end up with Ohtani,” Nicholson-Smith wrote.
“A more common suggestion heard from around the league: the Blue Jays will add a bat and a reliever in the hopes that more modest additions augment a roster that’s quietly won 30 of its last 50 games.”
Will the Angels trade Ohtani?
Ohtani, 29, is regarded as one of, if not the best, baseball player on the planet. He’s the only active two-way player in the league, pitching as one of the best in the game and is consistently one of baseball’s best hitters.
The Japan-born superstar is 8-5 as a starting pitcher this season, with a 3.71 ERA across 19 starts with 148 strikeouts. As a hitter, Ohtani leads the league with 36 home runs entering Tuesday, with a league-leading seven triples and 77 RBIs. He’s slashing .302/.398/.674 with a league-leading 1.072 OPS and 6.8 wins above replacement (WAR).
The 29-year-old signed with the Angels as an international free agent out of Japan in 2017. Despite joining forces with fellow star Mike Trout, the Angels have failed to qualify for the postseason with a losing record in five of the last six years.
The Angels are currently 51-49 and are four-and-a-half games back of Toronto for the third wild-card spot. They’re seven-and-a-half-games back of the Texas Rangers for first in the division.
Ohtani and the Angels will visit Toronto and the Rogers Centre for a three-game series starting on Friday, with the two-way player expected to get the start in game one.
