Major League Baseball's trade deadline is one week away, and all of the intrigue this summer rests on whether or not the Los Angeles Angels will trade two-way star Shohei Ohtani. For those who are out of the loop, Ohtani is an impending free agent who seems likely to leave town this winter. The Angels have slipped far enough in the standings that they have to at least consider dealing baseball's best player, no matter how painful that might be.
This time of the year inspires a lot of eyebrow-raising content, including unrealistic-bordering-on-laughable fake trade proposals. We are not, as the headline indicates, inoculated against the temptation of making ourselves look like the town fools. Still, here are two housekeeping notes before we get started.
Foremost, we've used the "medium" trade template proposed by industry insiders. In layman's terms: we've chosen three good youngsters who are either pre-arbitration big-league players or prospects. Would the Angels actually accept most of these offers? It's doubtful. Would they accept any of these offers? Maybe, but we're skeptical. This is a no-win situation. Either we don't put enough in each package and Angels fans get mad, or we put too much and the other team's fans get mad. We've split the difference so everyone gets mad.
That brings us to our second and arguably more important point. This exercise is for entertainment purposes only. There's no sense getting too worked up about the fake proposals we've presented here. They don't matter. They're not real. The self isn't real, either. Just take a breath. Clear your mind. Live in the moment. Then keep scrolling, ever so slowly, as we roll around in the proverbial filth and do our best to get through another summer's mad season.
With that out of the way, below you'll find the top eight teams best positioned to land Ohtani (as ranked by our Mike Axisa), along with their fake offers, a summary of the players involved, and an explanation as to why it'll probably never happen. Now, onto the gasbaggery.
The offer: OF Evan Carter, INF Ezequiel Durán, and RHP Jack Leiter
Commentary: We're coming in hot, perhaps a little too hot. Carter is a top-10 prospect in all the minors in our estimation; Leiter is a recent first-round draft pick whose stock has slid amid continued struggles as a professional; and Durán is a 24-year-old with a 132 OPS+ (and more than seven times as many strikeouts as walks). This deal would probably hurt for the Rangers to make, possibly a lot should Carter develop as planned and the Angels help Leiter get back on track. Still, if you're going to be a championship team you have to make championship moves; the Rangers have done that time and again the last few offseasons, so why stop now? Adding Ohtani to this Rangers roster would make the team with the best run differential in the majors even more fearsome. Who knows. Ohtani might even be willing to stick around -- remember, the Rangers were one of his finalists when he first came over.
Why it'll probably never happen: It's unclear if Angels owner Arte Moreno will be willing to green-light any trade, let alone one within the division.
The offer: OF Heston Kjerstad, LHP DL Hall, and INF Connor Norby
Commentary: Kjerstad is a former No. 2 overall pick whose career was delayed by a bout with myocarditis. He's since returned and soared into consideration as one of the best 25 or so prospects in the game thanks to an above-average stick. The story on Hall has remained the same for a few years: big stuff, but not-so-big command that threatens his chances of being a conventional starter (we've long thought he could make a good multi-inning reliever). Norby projects as an offensive-minded second baseman. All three are on the Orioles' Triple-A roster, meaning they could offer near-instant support.
Why it'll probably never happen: At some point, you figure Orioles executive Mike Elias will make a big "go-for-it" trade, either at a deadline or during an offseason. Adding a rental -- even in the form of Ohtani -- may not trigger that point. The Angels, for their part, might not be thrilled with Hall and Norby.
The offer: SS Carson Williams, 1B Kyle Manzardo, and INF Osleivis Basabe
Commentary: Williams may inspire some hit-tool-related concerns, but he's still arguably a top-20 prospect thanks to his plethora of loud secondary tools. He has star potential if he makes enough contact. Manzardo is a fine first-base prospect who has already reached Triple-A as a 23-year-old. Basabe gets overshadowed by the Rays' slew of big-league and upper-minors infield prospects. He's a contact-driven second baseman type who is nearly ready.
Why it'll probably never happen: The Rays tend to come up short in their pursuits of big-time stars. Maybe they're due, but our explanation would be that other teams are more willing to become irrational in their pursuits. The problem with always avoiding the winner's curse is, well, you don't land the player.
The offer: 2B Michael Busch; RHP Gavin Stone, and OF Andy Pages
Commentary: The Dodgers most expendable top prospect is catcher Diego Cartaya, but it's unclear if the Angels would have interest in him given that they already employ Logan O'Hoppe. With that off the table, we're assuming the Dodgers would have to overwhelm the Angels with quality near-ready prospects who aren't necessarily at that top-20 level. Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes have the means to if they want. Here, we've included three players who could slot into the lineup or rotation either immediately or soon, including Pages, a player the Angels nearly acquired a few winters ago.
Why it'll probably never happen: The Dodgers can overwhelm the Angels with near-ready big-league players if they wanted to -- and they certainly have the means to keep Ohtani long term, giving them added incentive to do so. Alas, there's probably no chance Moreno would be OK trading Ohtani to the Dodgers.
The offer: 3B Noelvi Marte, RHP Chase Petty, and 3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
Commentary: The Reds were on the other side of selling off a big-time veteran last deadline, when they sent Luis Castillo to the Mariners. Part of the return then was Marte, a top-20 prospect in our estimation who just keeps hitting -- even if he might have to move off the hot corner. Petty is a former first-round pick with a big-time arm and Encarnacion-Strand is big-league-ready with massive raw power (as well as some serious approach-related risk).
Why it'll probably never happen: The Reds have been a terrific story this season, but they might not want to push too many of their chips in just yet. Additionally, the Angels might prefer some other combination of Reds prospects, including, perhaps, the other piece netted in the Castillo trade: shortstop Edwin Arroyo.
The offer: SS Jackson Merrill, RHP Dylan Lesko, and OF Samuel Zavala
Commentary: Merrill is a top-20 prospect and Lesko was a first-round pick last season despite being in the midst of recovery from Tommy John surgery. That's a good foundation for a deal, provided you buy into the upside of both. Zavala, for his part, has shown good pop. He'll need to continue to slug given the strikeout rates he's been running in the lower minors.
Why it'll probably never happen: It's probably foolish to count out A.J. Preller when it comes to making splashy moves. Even so, it's unclear if he'd be willing to splurge on a rental given the Padres' current position in the standings.
The offer: OF Jasson Dominguez, OF/C Austin Wells, and RHP Chase Hampton
Commentary: There are nits to pick with Dominguez, but it's encouraging that he's been an above-average hitter at Double-A as a 20-year-old. Besides, getting someone of his name value back would ease the sting of losing Ohtani. Wells isn't likely to catch in the majors -- and, worse yet, he's encountered some turbulence at the plate this season -- though he's also a former first-round pick who could theoretically make his way to The Show next year. Hampton has had a breakout season.
Why it'll probably never happen: As with the Dodgers, we're not convinced Moreno would ever be OK with trading a star player to the Yankees.
The offer: OF Luis Matos, INF Marco Luciano, and LHP Carson Whisenhunt
Commentary: Matos recently made his big-league debut and has demonstrated he can make quality contact frequently enough to atone for his lack of thump. Luciano's arrow is pointing down at this point in his development despite producing at an above-average clip in Double-A because of concerns about his hit tool and long-term defensive position. Whisenhunt would've been a first-round pick in 2022 had he not been suspended for the collegiate season after failing a performance-enhancing drug test. (Yes, we avoided the temptation to be too cute by including two-way player Reggie Crawford as a spiritual success to Ohtani.)
Why it'll probably never happen: Farhan Zaidi might prefer waiting until the offseason, when he can throw the kind of large offer at Ohtani he did with Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa last winter, rather than giving up prospects now and money later. The Angels, for their part, might want a better top piece in return.
