LOS ANGELES – With Shohei Ohtani set to pitch in Toronto Friday and the Angels still hovering around the .500 mark as the trade deadline approaches, it’s impossible not to wonder.
Is there any chance – even a slim one – that the Blue Jays could land the two-way superstar in a blockbuster trade? The question is compelling, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday that the Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays were three of the most popular answers when he asked big-league executives where Ohtani could land if he’s moved.
As always, the speculation of MLB personnel is interesting. Yet that alone doesn’t make the possibility realistic and for a variety of reasons, a trade to the Blue Jays should be considered extremely unlikely at best.
“Makes no sense,” one executive said. “You’d have to completely empty your farm system and to do that you’d want to believe you could re-sign him.”
Of course the belief is that Ohtani will sign on the West Coast once his contract expires this fall, with the Dodgers considered early favourites to sign him and the Giants, Padres and Mariners lurking. Of course we can’t forget about the Angels, the team Ohtani chose over a broad range of suitors that included the Blue Jays when he came to MLB six years ago.
Now 51-49, the Angels are 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot entering play Tuesday. While multiple industry sources believe the front office could be amenable to dealing Ohtani, the ultimate call will rest with owner Arte Moreno. Restock the farm system by dealing a franchise player and risk alienating the fan base or keep Ohtani in the hopes of a late-season turnaround and a pursuit of 60-plus home runs?
The Blue Jays have ties to the Angels’ front office, including GM Perry Minasian, who worked in Toronto for nine years before joining the Atlanta front office in 2017. But while familiarity between front office officials can’t hurt, that alone doesn’t create a fit when so many other clubs will show interest.
Toronto’s farm system has thinned out as players have graduated to the majors in recent years, meaning it would be tough for the Blue Jays to assemble a package commensurate with Ohtani’s historic talents unless they scrap the big-league team for parts. Plus, while the Blue Jays have spent aggressively in free agency under president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins, it hasn’t been their style to go all-in with trades for pending free agents.
In fact, past deadline pickups like Whit Merrifield, Anthony Bass, Mitch White, Trevor Richards, Adam Cimber, Jose Berrios, Ross Stripling and Francisco Liriano all arrived in Toronto with multiple years of control remaining. Some rentals have been mixed in, as Joakim Soria, Taijuan Walker and Scott Feldman can attest, but those modest deals are incomparable to the kind of trade it would require to land Ohtani.
If anyone trades for Ohtani this year, they’ll be taking on massive amounts of risk – a move that would be uncharacteristic of not only the Blue Jays but the Orioles and Rays, too. A late pursuit from an unpredictable team like the Padres would be easier to envision but with San Diego on the fringes of contention that looks less likely (still, executives predict the Padres will be active with one suggesting they’ll “do something weird”).
Ohtani would undoubtedly help any team, the Blue Jays included. It would be unconscionable not to check and express initial interest because if trade talks do occur, there’s a chance they’ll progress very quickly. At the same time, none of the executives I’ve heard from have seriously suggested the Blue Jays end up with Ohtani.
A more common suggestion heard from around the league: the Blue Jays will add a bat and a reliever in the hopes that more modest additions augment a roster that’s quietly won 30 of its last 50 games.
