No matter where they stand in the race, the Angels are unlikely to trade Shohei Ohtani, multiple people close to the situation say.
The Yankees, Padres and about half the teams made inquiries about the great two-way star at last year’s deadline, and sources say Angels owner Arte Moreno rather emphatically and colorfully shot down the idea of trading the iconic superstar.
No one around the team sees that changing now.
Put aside that the Angels are improved, Moreno and Co. haven’t given up hope of holding onto Ohtani long term. So a trade seems out of the question.
“Zero percent chance,” one Angels person connected estimated the chances of a trade.
The bigger question is whether the Angels actually have a chance to extend him. Moreno told The Post in February they will try, and that fits their past M.O. — a team that makes big deals for huge stars (i.e. Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Anthony Rendon, etc.).
But another Angels-linked person, who agrees there’s no chance they’d trade him, admits their chances are very slight to keep him long term, too.
Trout, meantime, suggested he isn’t abandoning all hope, telling The Post, “Ultimately, it’s going to come down if we get to the playoffs. That could put a thought in his mind — that could give us a shot.”
While the Yankees showed as much interest as anyone in an Ohtani trade last July, there’s serious question whether he’d sign up to play for either the Mets or Yankees.
He got word to the Yankees five years ago that he couldn’t see himself in New York.
Aaron Judge isn’t saying anything yet about any hope of teaming up with Ohtani.
“You never know,” Judge said. “I’ve seen him at a couple All-Star games. I’ve never really mentioned it to him. I think he’s pretty happy in California. But you never know. Free agency is a wild thing. Anything can pop up. We’ll see.”
The Dodgers and Padres looks like strong Ohtani options since they win a lot, spend a lot and are on the West Coast — with the Mets, Yankees, Mariners, Giants, Cubs and Rangers all obvious possibilities.