MLB Rumors: Major Ohtani surprise, Cardinals top targets, Yankees star connections
- Could the Los Angeles Angels actually keep Shohei Ohtani?
- The St. Louis Cardinals have 2 top pitching targets.
- The Yankees should be very active this offseason.
By Curt Bishop
MLB Rumors: Could Shohei Ohtani remain with Angels?
The popular consensus around Major League Baseball is that two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will depart the Los Angeles Angels. However, a recent report from Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register suggests that the opposite may happen.
According to the report, Halos General Manager Perry Minasian had a conversation with Ohtani about such matters.
"I talked to him the second-to-last day of the season, we had a one-on-one conversation. I believe this is a place that he's enjoyed playing and this is a place that he loves and it's got a group of players, teammates that he enjoyed spending time with," said Minasian. "Is he disappointed we didn't win? Absolutely. Everybody is. I've had conversations with numerous players throughout the year, going through April, going through May, going through June, going into July, right around the trade deadline. There was a lot of confidence in this club, both from a front-office perspective and a player perspective."
Based on Minasian's comments, it appears that he is actually quite optimistic that Ohtani will remain an Angel. A departure in free agency seems obvious, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that he could stay instead.