An Angel out of the outfield could make for a hell of a decision for Los Angeles.
If you haven't been paying much attention, Shohei Ohtani is putting together another ridiculous, absurd, jaw-dropping season for the Angels: With a 6.7 bWAR through 85 games, Ohtani is the clear frontrunner for AL MVP, which would be his second.
The Angels, though, haven't capitalized on another history-making season from Ohtani. Instead, they sit three games out of the third wild-card spot in the American League and were dealt another massive blow on July 3; superstar outfielder Mike Trout suffered a wrist injury, and it didn't look great.
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With Trout placed on the 10-day IL, there's a chance that he could miss up to two months while recovering — and that severely harms the Angels' chances at chasing down a playoff spot. That leads to the uncomfortable conversation that previously felt unthinkable: Should the Angels trade Shohei Ohtani?
Trade buzz surrounding Ohtani has persisted since last year, when Los Angeles was rumored to entertain some trade offers at the deadline and into the offseason. Los Angeles opted to keep Ohtani in hopes that it could chase down a postseason berth.
The next 20 games will be especially telling for the Angels: ESPN's Jeff Passan reported earlier in the season that, barring any kind of big-time collapse, the Angels will hold onto Ohtani through the Aug. 1 trade deadline. That'll lead him to hitting free agency this offseason, when he'll, presumably, leave the Halos behind for the highest bidder.
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Angels GM Perry Minasian echoed those sentiments in late June. While the Angels aren't in the driver's seat, three games back in the wild card race is, at its simplest, a good week of baseball.
"I think it’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at [in the standings]," Minasian said when asked about an Ohtani trade.
With Trout missing extended time, then that picture gets a bit murkier for the Angels, especially post All-Star break. Los Angeles has three-game sets with the Astros and Yankees immediately following the break, with both teams ahead of them in the wild-card standings.
Those two series could very much decide their season — and the fate of Ohtani in an Angels uniform.