Could Shohei Ohtani leave Los Angeles Angels during the MLB trade deadline?

This was the last season that the Los Angeles Angels had to convince Shohei Ohtani they could build a championship team around him. Those possibilities of winning a title are quickly fading away amid the team's latest results. Franchise owner Arte Moreno can no longer guarantee that the squad will make the Playoffs this season and Ohtani could very well decide to leave during the trade deadline. Not even the Angels' coaching staff knows what will happen when that deadline arrives. At this point, anything is possible in of Shohei Ohtani's future. That's the biggest fear, losing the Japanese phenom during the free agency.

When is the MLB trade deadline?

Los Angeles Angels have until August 1 to either convince Shohei Ohtani to stay at the ball club or trade him to the best possible options for him. As things stand right now, there are low but still possible chances he might leave. According to Jon Heyman, the Angels are contemplating that idea more prominently by the minute and the team is telling other franchises they will know more about a potential trade over the next couple of weeks. If they are not immediately shutting down conversations, it means that they are definitely going to trade for him if they consider it's a good option. What the Angels need now is to build a more complete roster in other areas.

Given they already have Mike Trout on the team, they could definitely sell their most valuable player in order to fill those other areas where the Angels are lacking. But then again, they would be sacrificing probably the greatest player their franchise has ever seen. With Trout and Rendon already having long-term deals, Moreno wouldn't like to pay that luxury tax if he signed Ohtani on another long-term deal. If he does, he would have to pay an excess of $125 million per season just to keep all three players on board. If we consider those factors alone, Shohei Ohtani will be on his way out of Anaheim before August 1.