Shohei Ohtani is staying with the Los Angeles Angels.
Yesterday, Perry Minasian, the team’s general manager, announced that he did not plan on trading Ohtani at any point this offseason.
The Angels finished 73-89 and fell short of the postseason for the eighth straight season, with another year of Ohtani and Mike Trout essentially being wasted.
But after much speculation that the Angels might entertain some offers for Ohtani, Minasian made clear that there were no such plans to do so and that they would be holding onto the two-way star.
Ohtani will be a free agent after the 2023 season.
Angels GM Perry Minasian announced that the Angels will NOT trade Shohei Ohtani this offseason.
h/t @SamBlum3 pic.twitter.com/QKMn6tadaM
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 7, 2022
Halos Will Not Trade Ohtani
The Angels had a busy offseason prior to the 2022 season, signing pitchers Ryan Tepera, Noah Syndergaard, and Michael Lorenzen.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to help the Angels overcome yet another epic slump.
A 14-game losing skid that stretched into June is what ultimately took them out of contention.
During that streak, manager Joe Maddon was fired.
Trout and Ohtani were both All-Stars in 2022, and Ohtani is currently in the running for the American League MVP Award.
Ultimately, the combined efforts of their two sluggers could not save them from their fate.
But it’s clear that the Angels don’t intend to give up on trying to win and plan on keeping Ohtani around for at least one more year.
Whether or not they try and build a contending team around him is up for debate.
But for now, Ohtani isn’t going anywhere and still factors into the Halos’ plans for 2023.