The Yankees’ first-half performance was disappointing, but it could’ve been a lot worse. They could be in the Mets’ position. As they face the Rockies at Coors Field this weekend, they’re one game out of the final AL Wild Card spot. So, you know that means New York will be buying at the trade deadline. Could Brian Cashman actually land Shohei Ohtani, if he somehow becomes available?
Earlier this week, Buster Olney said on ESPN’s Get Up! that the Yankees are the most motivated to make a trade for the 2021 AL MVP Award winner:
.@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
With a 45-46 record to start the second half, Los Angeles is teetering between buying and selling. If they fall further out of contention, it’d make the most baseball sense for the Angels to trade Ohtani if they don’t think he’d re-sign, mostly to dramatically beef up their farm system. But then again, team owner Arte Moreno probably won’t get out of his own way to let it happen.
What are the chances of the Yankees landing him? Not likely, according to our own Josh Benjamin. Here’s part of what he said on Thursday:
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.
Up until now, we’ve heard that the Angels have no plans on trading Ohtani. And based on the news/rumors that have been out there, it didn’t seem like they had any interest in even listening to potential trade offers. Until now, according to MLB insider Jon Morosi:
Post by @jonmorosiView on Threads
The chances of this happening are still very slim, but this glimmer of hope is all Yankees fans need right now.
If New York is truly motivated to make something work, we’ll see just how much soon enough.
Of course, it’ll depend on how the Angels and Yankees perform in their respective games, as well as how the rest of the trade market develops (the Cardinals are planning on selling, as well). Regardless of how realistic or unrealistic Ohtani getting traded to New York is, this bit of news from the rumor mill will keep Yankees Twitter ablaze with hypothetical trade proposals for a while.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
