For the better part of the 2022 season, Shohei Ohtani’s future with the Angels persisted as one of the biggest questions around Major League Baseball amid another trying season in Anaheim.
But, through it all, the club maintained its desire to keep the two-way superstar in town despite receiving interest from multiple teams at the trade deadline. On Monday, the Angels, only one month removed from inking Ohtani to a deal for 2023, announced they expect to have the 28-year-old on their Opening Day roster come next spring.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian told reporters L.A. will not trade Ohtani this offseason, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic. The news comes on the heels of Ohtani, the reigning AL MVP and a finalist for this year’s award, signing a one-year, $30 million deal on Oct. 1 to avoid arbitration.
Minasian’s announcement effectively closes the door on a potential Ohtani blockbuster deal some believed could occur this summer after the Angels (73–89) notched their seventh consecutive losing season.
Barring a change in circumstances, Ohtani will now head into the 2023 season looking to power the Angels to success alongside fellow star Mike Trout. Another bad start to the year, however, could re-ignite the trade rumors next year, especially if Ohtani feels similarly about the direction of the team as he did reflecting on the Angels’ struggles in October.
“I have to say that August and September in particular felt longer to me than last year,” Ohtani said in Japanese, via the Associated Press. “We were not able to play as many good games as we would like—including 14 consecutive losses. So I have a rather negative impression of this season.”
Despite never being a part of a winning team in his five MLB seasons, Ohtani has continued to shine as one of the best players in the game. In 2022, the two-time All-Star became the first player in MLB history to qualify statistically as both a hitter and a pitcher, hitting .273/.356/.519 with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs while posting a 2.33 ERA with 219 strikeouts in 166.0 innings pitched.
