Twins Rumors: Angels asking price in Shohei Ohtani trade revealed
MLB insider Jon Morosi revealed what the Angels would be looking for in a potential Shohei Ohtani trade — as crazy as that sounds.
![Los Angeles Angels v Minnesota Twins](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5298,h_2980,x_0,y_490/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/2/01h5fpncp4wbg976gz3h.jpg)
As teh MLB Trade Deadline approaches, the Minnesota Twins have a few different questions they need to answer.
One of the more outlandish and surreal questions is whether to seriously entertain the idea of trading for Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani.
Let’s not pretend this is anything other than it is: the Twins have been mentioned along with jut about every other team in baseball as a potential landing spot for Ohtani if the Angels decide to go nuclear. They are not front runners, they are not favorites, they probably aren’t even in legitimate contention, but if your team is even whispered as being in the same conversation as Ohtani then it’s worth thinking about.
What ultimately will decide Ohtanit’s future is price.
Not only is he due for a record-breaking new contract, but if the Angels decide to trade him they’re not going to just hand him over. Even as a half-season rental, the trade package for Ohtani will be impressive and we’re starting to figure out how big it might be.
Twins price in potential Shohei Ohtani trade revealed by MLB insider
To be perfectly clear, this isn't a report specific to the Twins. Rather, Morosi outlines what it would likely take to land Ohtani based on what he's hearing the Angels asking price is.
Minnesota, for whatever reason and to whatever degree, has bene linked to Ohtani in the past. This is probably more of a generalization when talking about potential Ohtani trades than anything else, but at the same time the Twins would be foolish to not at least check the pulse of a deal.
Should that happen, it sounds like the Angels will want back multiple Top 100 prospects.
The Angels are now in a listening mode with Shohei Ohtani trade inquiries, sources say, as I reported in this @MLBNetwork segment. Suitors must be prepared to offer multiple top-100 type prospects to begin the conversation. @MLBPipeline @MLB pic.twitter.com/WEea8ReOlt
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 15, 2023
It's objectively hilarious and also crushingly depressing that the Angels are in this position. They have a generational talent, and the best baseball player in the known universe, and they're unable to get this right. Buried in all of the Ohtani drama is the fact that the Angels have Mike Trout -- another generational talent -- and are likely going to end up having wasted the opportunity to do anything with them on the same roster.
The sincerest sympathies go out to every Angels fan out there. Not only could this end with Ohtani gone, but what has the organization done to suggest they'll get it right with whatever Top 100 prospects they get in a return package?
As far as top prospects and a trade package go, the Twins are surprisingly well-positioned to make a competitive offer.
Right now the Twins have two players in MLB's Top 100 prospect list: Brooks Lee and Emmanuel Rodriguez. Minnesota also boasts Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien, who were both Top 100 prospects prior to being called up. Add to this guys like Marco Raya and Walker Jenkins and all of a sudden the Twins have a pretty powerful combination of top young talent to put together a serious offer for Ohtani.
The question is should they?
Ohtani is a generational talent, but those guys we mentioned are viewed as being important core pieces of the Twins future. They won’t all be traded, but the price to land Ohtani isn’t cheap and the last thing Minnesota wants to do in acquiring him is become the Midwest Angels.
We’re all assuming the Angels will actually trade Ohtani, which is insane to think about. Trading for Ohtani would require a commitment that he’s signing long-term, and if the Twins can get that and muster the willingness to give him the most expensive contract in Minnesota sports history, then a conversation is absolutely warranted.
Anything short of that, the Twins should hang onto their future and see where the chips fall with Ohtani if he hits the open market.
feed