Shohei Ohtani rumors: 5 teams ready to trade for star if Angels fall from contention

3. San Francisco Giants

After the Dodgers and Mets, Passan names the San Francisco Giants as one of the other top contenders in the possible Shohei Ohtani stakes if the Angels fall out of contention before the deadline.

As one of the teams willing to give Carlos Correa a 13-year, $350 million contract this past offseason, before the wheels fell off the deal, the Giants have shown that they are not afraid to spend big to bring in a star.

Whether they’d be able to offer the Angels enough to swing a trade in-season is another matter. With the 17th-ranked farm system, per MLB Pipeline, the Giants only have a couple of top 100 prospects to offer as part of a package. While lefty Kyle Harrison and shortstop Marco Luciano are ranked 18 and 22, respectively, there may not be enough else in the system to get the Angels to part with their superstar.

The other question is if Ohtani would want to play in San Francisco. After finishing .500 last season, the Giants don’t look to be in a position to contend for the World Series, let alone a division title any time soon, with the Dodgers, Padres and upstart Diamondbacks to compete with.

Their 2023 campaign has gotten off to a rocky start at 6-12, so moving to the Bay Area would be a lateral move at best for the 28-year-old, and most likely, he would end up in a worse situation than he’s in with the Angels.