Listening to loudmouths on #BaseballTwitter complain about Aaron Judge robbing Shohei Ohtani of another MVP is bad enough.
Even worse are the louder loudmouths on #YankeesTwitter who insist general manager Brian Cashman will trade for Shohei Ohtani. Unfortunately, this vocal minority’s oxygen supply increased tenfold thanks to ESPN’s Buster Olney.
The veteran insider appeared on “Get Up” and insisted that according to his sources, the Yankees would “be the most motivated” to acquire Ohtani from the Los Angeles Angels.
.@Buster_ESPN says the Yankees are potentially "the most motivated" to go after Shohei Ohtani if he's made available by the Angels 👀 pic.twitter.com/epel8QBhkg
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 13, 2023
Granted, just for the sake of argument, we’ve actually discussed a potential Yankees-Ohtani trade. Realistic or not, it’s a fun topic. Could the Yankees trade for the two-way star and, if so, how much would it cost them?
Except it’s not going to happen. The Yankees should add a bat at the Aug. 1 deadline and probably will, but it won’t be Ohtani. And it doesn’t even have anything to do with the outfield logjam the trade would create, nor the record-setting deal Shohei Ohtani will demand in free agency this winter.
Rather, the reason the Yankees won’t actually trade for Shohei Ohtani is simple: He won’t gut the farm system for a rental.
Think about it. In the post-George Steinbrenner Era, when has Cashman ever gutted the farm system for an expiring contract? The answer is he simply hasn’t and won’t start just because Shohei Ohtani happens to be a unicorn.
Furthermore, Angels GM Perry Minasian is a bit more realistic than owner Arte Moreno. He won’t accept anything less than a king’s ransom for Ohtani, and that’s assuming he even makes him available. The Angels have been steadfast that they have no plans to trade him despite his impending free agency.
We’ll see if they’re singing that same tune at the end of the month, especially if the Angels lose ground in the AL Wild Card. They’re currently five games back of a berth, fourth in the AL West and seven games behind first-place Texas, and Mike Trout is recovering from a broken wrist.
This means that unless they come out hot after the All-Star Break or otherwise don’t lose ground, Los Angeles will likely sell at the deadline. This means at least dangling Shohei Ohtani to see what other teams are willing to pay in a trade.
But even then, Cashman won’t sell his farm just to land Ohtani and replenish the Angels’. Sorry, fans, but it’s true.
One more time just so everyone hears it: The New York Yankees won’t trade for Shohei Ohtani.
