The baseball world continues to wait to see if the Angels will be making Shohei Ohtani available via trade in the middle of his last season before reaching free agency.
If he's made available, expect to see the Yankees right in the middle of the trade rumors.
ESPN's Buster Olney told "Get Up" Thursday morning that teams believe the Yankees are going to be the "most motivated" to make a move and acquire the game's biggest start.
He also said the Rangers, Rays and "maybe a small handful of teams" would also try to make a strong push for Ohtani.
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Shohei Ohtani trade rumors
Olney laid out the current Ohtani-to-New York buzz this way:
"There's no doubt in talking with sources yesterday, they see the Yankees as potentially being the most motivated because Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, they're middle-age players right in the prime of their careers. This is the Yankees' window to win now," Olney said.
"You bring in Ohtani, suddenly the Yankees rotation with him involved looks so strong. Ohtani hitting in Yankee Stadium, which favors left-handed sluggers. That's something I'm sure the Yankees would be willing to pay for if Ohtani is made available by the Angels."
.@Buster_ESPN says the Yankees are potentially "the most motivated" to go after Shohei Ohtani if he's made available by the Angels 👀 pic.twitter.com/epel8QBhkg
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 13, 2023
On paper, the Yankees make sense as a very logical trade destination. They are fully in win-now mode with the core Olney mentioned, and they have the farm system to pull off such a deal. Any deal would likely be headlined by top prospect Jasson Dominguez, could include standout rookie Anthony Volpe, and could also feature players like Austin Wells, Everson Pereira, Spencer Jones, Trey Sweeney and plenty more.
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And Ohtani would likely thrive in New York. It's the fourth-most home run-friendly stadium in baseball for left-handed hitters, per Baseball Savant, and he'd have plenty of protection in the lineup with Judge and Stanton batting around him. The Yankees also have the pitching depth, with Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Domingo German, Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino (if he turns things around) to allow Ohtani to pitch on a six-day rotation.
There's no doubt New York would have what it takes to pull it off. The question would most likely be in whether the team would be willing to pull the trigger. New York has not made a blockbuster trade acquisition since acquiring Stanton from the Marlins in 2017, though it has made moves in recent years for prominent players like Anthony Rizzo, Josh Donaldson, Frankie Montas, Joey Gallo, Andrew Benintendi, Harrison Bader, Clay Holmes, Jameson Taillon, Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Andrew Heaney.
New York would also have to make the decision on whether it wants to re-sign Ohtani to what would be the largest contract in baseball history. Part of the reason any team would want to trade for Ohtani would be to have exclusive negotiating rights with him on a contract between now and the offseason.
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The Yankees already have several significant contracts on the books that will be there for a long time. New York has three players signed through 2029, with Rodon (six years, $162 million), Cole (nine years, $324 million) and Stanton (13 years, $325 million) all on major deals. Then there's Judge, who just signed a nine-year, $360 million deal during the offseason to remain in New York through 2032.
Of course, the Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2009, a long drought for a franchise that has gone at least 14 years between titles only twice (1962-77, 1978-96) and has a fanbase that is ready for the team to get back to dominating the sport. If New York wants to get back to the top of the baseball world, adding perhaps the best player in history would go a long way toward getting back to the summit.
But every team should also have interest in acquiring Ohtani, a true unicorn in the game both for his ability to pitch and hit as well as for his marketability and popularity among fans. That the Yankees would be among the most interested suitors should be no surprise.
