Jason Burgos
While many organizations could jump into the Shohei Ohtani trade market, an MLB insider believes the Texas Rangers are a team to keep an eye on as a serious contender to land the MVP candidate.
With the August 1 MLB trade deadline closing in, there are many All-Stars and talented impact players that will be up for grabs to playoff contenders. However, there is no bigger trade storyline than if the Los Angeles Angels will actually pull the trigger on a Shohei Ohtani deal.
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After weeks of reports that the organization had no intention of moving the three-time All-Star things have drastically changed over the last month as they have quickly fallen out of the playoff chase following Mike Trout’s recent injury. Now, the word around the league is that the Angels are listening to offers in case there is one they just can’t refuse.
With rumors swirling about a Shohei Ohtani trade, there have been several teams linked to a potential deal. Including the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, and even the Tampa Bay Rays. One elite team that hasn’t been mentioned is the first-place Texas Rangers. That has now changed.
Texas Rangers schedule: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers at 8:05 PM ET on Friday
On Wednesday, The Athletic’s MLB insider Ken Rosenthal claimed Texas is “a team to watch” if the Japanese superstar becomes available. The suggestion is sound since the franchise has never been opposed to bold moves, and adding Ohtani to their solid rotation and powerful batting order would make the Rangers a serious World Series threat in the Fall.
- Shohei Ohtani stats (2023): .306 AVG, .397 OBP, .678 SLG, 35 HR, 76 RBI, 71 R
The MLB insider also admitted that securing a trade could be difficult because the asking price for Ohtani will be immense and require a huge haul of top 100 prospects. While the Texas Rangers have several good prospects in their farm system, they don’t have many top 100 players compared to some of the other teams that would be in the hunt for the MVP candidate.
However, two of them — Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter — are seen as a pair of the 10 to 15 best players in the minor leagues currently.
