TORONTO – Of course the Los Angeles Angels weren’t going to trade Shohei Ohtani. Getting a package that justifies both parting with the sport’s most dynamic talent today, and perhaps its most unique ever, while also truncating the opportunity to extend him is nearly impossible. Even a return that may initially look good on paper is highly likely to diminish over time given the attrition rate of prospects. Better then to keep the two-way star, augment around him, take a low-percentage shot at the post-season and maximize the chances of retaining him. There’s almost certainly never going to be another Ohtani for the Angels.
Enter Lucas Giolito, the right-hander debuting Friday brazenly acquired by GM Perry Minasian a couple days ago in a deal that capsized the deadline market, and a new wild-card threat for the Toronto Blue Jays, one they fended off with a 4-1, series-opening win before a crowd of 42,106.
Giolito, picked up from the Chicago White Sox with reliever Reynaldo Lopez for prospects Edgar Quero, a catcher, and Ky Bush, a lefty, was tagged for solo shots by Matt Chapman in the second and Danny Jansen in the third, plus Bo Bichette’s RBI double in the sixth over his 5.1 innings, an outing that highlighted both the opportunity and peril for the Angels.
Kevin Gausman surrendered a solo shot to Ohtani on his third pitch of the game, a majestic 397-foot rocket to right, then cruised through six, leaving behind the bases loaded with none out in the seventh, a mess deftly cleaned up by Erik Swanson who struck out two and induced a weak Luis Rengifo flyout to escape unscathed.
There was more late drama in the ninth, when the Angels loaded the bases against an uncomfortable looking Jordan Romano, who left the game after striking out Michael Stefanic, pinch-hitting for Ohtani who left Thursday’s game with cramping, for the second out. Yimi Garcia then got Mickey Moniak on a soft liner to second for the final out.
The victory was significant in more ways than one for the Blue Jays (58-46), who now lead the season series between the clubs 3-1 and are a win away from securing a wild card tiebreaker over the Angels (54-50).
Already they’ve clinched in against the Houston Astros (4-3), at 3-4 so far are in play to secure it against the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees but are longshots to gain it over Baltimore (1-5) and Boston (0-7). Barring a miracle Seattle will hold it over the Blue Jays despite the clubs evenly splitting six regular season games, as the next tiebreaker is intradivision record with the Mariners holding a wide edge there.
The depth of teams in the mix for the American League’s three wild card spots is why the Angels aren’t done pushing yet, still actively seeking upgrades across the roster, while the Blue Jays remain on the hunt in a market that began picking up Friday.
While the likeliest path for them is a complementary right-handed bat and additional relief arm, the Blue Jays have also signalled to clubs that they’re open to more. GM Ross Atkins recently said he didn’t want to subtract from the current roster, adding “we can’t say that we absolutely won’t, but we would prefer not to.”
Changes are coming one way or another, with manager John Schneider revealing Friday that Hyun Jin Ryu will start Tuesday, as the Blue Jays plan to run a six-man rotation through the current stretch of 17 games in 17 days. Someone will have to go to make room for him on both the 26- and 40-man rosters and the Blue Jays do have a need for some talent consolidation.
Prospects Davis Schneider, Adam Kloffenstein, Jimmy Robbins, Cam Eden and Phil Clarke are among those due to be Rule 5 eligible this November, while Otto Lopez and Thomas Hatch will be out of options next year. Along with struggling swingman Mitch White and perhaps a part-time player like Santiago Espinal or Cavan Biggio, the Blue Jays have a pool of talent they can try to level up into a big-league add.
Threading the needle is all the more important for them this year after a series of win-now trades over the past three years, eating into a farm system that was once among the deepest in baseball.
They aren’t alone in that regard, as Orioles GM Mike Elias told reporters in Baltimore, including Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic, that “we can’t set the minor-league system on fire just because we are in first place. It’s our job to balance all that.”
In trying to build around Ohtani, Minasian didn’t set the Angels’ farm system on fire, but he did pay a steep price. His path is without doubt riskier than that of others, but no one else has Ohtani (and Mike Trout, whose return from the IL is on the horizon along with Anthony Rendon and Brandon Drury).
If the Angels don’t make the playoffs and Ohtani walks away as a free agent, well that’s Future Angels’ problem. There’s also value in the here and now and for teams with a chance at this time of the year, making the most of that is what it’s all about.
