MLB Rumors: What Mets Deduced From Pursuing Angels’ Shohei Ohtani

We apparently shouldn’t count on Shohei Ohtani rocking a new uniform by Aug. 3.

In the lead-up to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, it was reported that the Angels were listening to trade offers for Ohtani, arguably the game’s best player. Los Angeles, despite having a fairly talented roster, has underperformed since adding Ohtani in 2018 and a blockbuster deal involving the two-way phenom theoretically could help the Halos accelerate a rebuild of sorts.

According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the Mets recently checked in with the Angels about Ohtani and left the conversation with a clear takeaway.

“The Mets are naturally curious about Shohei Ohtani’s availability, as any well-heeled and ambitious team should be, but have concluded after inquiring that the Los Angeles Angels are not serious about trading the two-way superstar before Tuesday’s deadline, according to league sources,” Martino wrote in a column published Saturday.

“Even Angels executives are privately saying that they are extremely unlikely to move Ohtani in-season, according to a third source in touch with that front office. If that were to change, the Mets would of course be interested. This feels like a space to watch this winter.”

The Ohtani situation probably is one we should put on the back burner, but not throw in the trash. The 28-year-old only has one year of arbitration left, so the Angels might eventually find trading him for a heap of high-end assets is in the best interest of the franchise’s future.