Shohei Ohtani To Yankees? ESPN Floats Blockbuster Trade Proposal

Close your eyes and picture it: Shohei Ohtani in pinstripes, taking the mound and swinging for the fences as the New York Yankees march toward the postseason.

Likely? Probably not. First of all, the Yankees are a fringe playoff team shortly after the Major League Baseball All-Star break. And prying Ohtani away from the Los Angeles Angels at the MLB trade deadline could require a king’s ransom that general manager Brian Cashman simply isn’t ready to surrender.

Ohtani is set to become a free agent this offseason. So, he could be a pure rental for whichever team acquires him before Aug. 1. Would the Yankees really relinquish valuable prospect capital for two months of Ohtani? One could argue they wouldn’t be World Series contenders even with arguably the game’s best player.

Still, it’s a fun scenario to consider. And ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel floated a blockbuster package Wednesday in a piece examining hypothetical Ohtani trades.

The deal is below.

Yankees receive: RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani

Angels receive: CF Everson Pereira, SS Trey Sweeney, RHP Chase Hampton, RHP Drew Thorpe, 2B Jared Serna

Here is McDaniel’s logic:

I prioritized including multiple prospects who could be on a top 100 list this winter or next rather than just one top player and skewing most of the value toward 1) position players and 2) being in Double-A now or soon. Pereira (power-over-hit outfield tweener) and Sweeney (hit-over-power lefty-hitting shortstop) are probably both in the back half of the top 100 right now. Hampton and Thorpe are arrow-up starters with above-average stuff and enough feel to start, while Serna is a nice late-blooming power/speed performer.

The hypothetical trade appeared in a piece with several MLB experts (including McDaniel) playing general manager for nine teams that could pull off a deal for Ohtani before the MLB trade deadline. ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan evaluated each hypothetical offer from the Angels’ perspective.

Passan placed the Yankees’ offer in the “Sorry, you must have the wrong number” category, instead opting for a loaded hypothetical package from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Which makes sense, seeing as the Dodgers have the prospects to strike a trade now and the financial resources to re-sign Ohtani to a long-term contract.

Also, the Dodgers lead the National League West and could contend for a title this season, whereas the Yankees sit in last place in the American League East and face far more uncertainty for 2023 and beyond.

Of course, this all is contingent upon the Angels actually making Ohtani available.