Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is about to hit free agency, and there’s plenty of questions and speculation about where he will land.
Fellow Angels superstar Mike Trout referenced that mystery while speaking to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez in an interview that published Tuesday:
“There’s a lot of questions.
“The whole Shohei situation — I don’t think anybody knows what he’s feeling or what he’s thinking. It’s ultimately gonna come down to what he thinks and what he feels, and he’s gonna do what’s right for him and what he feels is right. I see him on a daily basis, obviously. He’s coming in every day. He looks like he’s enjoying it and feels comfortable. But I don’t know. It’s gonna be a tough go this winter. You never know what’s gonna happen. There’s gonna be a lot of teams out there wanting him. Who wouldn’t?
“But you can’t predict what’s gonna happen in the future. You just gotta look at what’s in front of you.”
Ohtani is well on his way to an MVP season with 43 home runs, 89 RBI and a 1.070 OPS. He’s also gone 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA and 165 strikeouts. However, the reeling Angels sit 61-64, nine games outside the wild-card picture.
Ohtani has made it abundantly clear that he wants to be on a winning team, as expressed during the All-Star break.
"It sucks to lose. He wants to win, so it gets stronger every year."
Shohei Ohtani, through his translator, on how important being on a winning team is to him: pic.twitter.com/tc47rqKjnu
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2023
Despite Ohtani’s sensational six-year stint in the bigs, the Angels have struggled, failing to make the playoffs from 2018-2022 and likely missing it this year as well. The Angels haven’t posted a winning record since 2015.
That performance begs the question as to whether Ohtani will look to play for an organization with a better track record, but for now, he remains an Angel as the team hopes for a late-season push to make the playoffs.
For Trout’s part, he’s not trying to look too far ahead at the moment.
“I’m trying not to look ahead like that,” Trout said, “but it’s gonna become a reality, obviously, in the offseason when that last game is played and he becomes a free agent. I haven’t really thought about what it’s gonna be like without him because I hope he comes back.”
For now, the Angels will look to get a winning streak going when they play the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game series beginning Tuesday.
