One new suitor for Shohei Ohtani could cause nightmares for fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
The Shohei Ohtani trade saga is about to come to a head. The Los Angeles Angels have one week to decide the immediate fate of their star two-way player before the Aug. 1 trade deadline passes. While the odds point toward Ohtani staying put, several teams are eager to snatch him up if the Angels have a change of heart.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants have been the primary suitors rumored to have interest in the Japanese megastar. Ohtani's reported free agent wishlist includes staying on the west coast and competing for a championship, both of which are boxes the Dodgers and Giants can check.
For LA in particular, it's a match made in heaven. The Dodgers are perennially flushed with cash and are more than happy to spend big for a player of Ohtani's caliber. Placing the best power hitter in baseball next to Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, and of course Freddie Freeman would be quite tantalizing.
That said, the Dodgers and Giants can't rest easy. The Angels are a serious contender to keep Ohtani in the winter, and if a trade does occur, other teams are in the mix. One potential suitor could make the Dodgers and Giants queasy.
Arizona Diamondbacks rumored to have trade interest in Shohei Ohtani
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Arizona Diamondbacks are among the teams to express interest in Ohtani ahead of next week's trade deadline. Per Morosi, the Diamondbacks' check-in qualifies as "due diligence."
Arizona has the prospects and established stars necessary to pique the Angels' interest if it does come to a trade. The Diamondbacks also pose a severe short and long-term threat to LA and San Francisco in the NL West. Arizona is 54-46, which places them 4.0 games behind the first-place Dodgers and a half-game ahead of the Giants.
While the majority of Ohtani buzz has focused on the Dodgers and Giants, the Diamondbacks also check every box on Ohtani's wishlist. West coast, check. Contender, check. And Ohtani also wants to keep a low profile; frankly, Arizona's probably better for that purpose than Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Ultimately there's built-in risk for any team that trades for Ohtani. He could pack up and leave after half a season. The Diamondbacks are not a traditionally high-spending franchise and giving up a boatload of assets only to lose Ohtani — especially to a division rival — would be crippling. That risk could scare prospective suitors off.
That said, the MLB is very much a league of no risk, no reward. If the Diamondbacks can bring the best baseball player of a generation to Phoenix and subsequently lock him up on a long-term contract, that would truly change the trajectory of the franchise.
Ohtani would join one of the best pitching staffs in the MLB alongside NL All-Star starter Zac Gallen. He would also be the cherry on top of a dynamic lineup that already includes All-Stars Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., as well as dinger expert Christian Walker.
The Diamondbacks tend to get overlooked in discussions around the NL West contenders as a result of market size more than anything else. Swinging a blockbuster trade for Ohtani would certainly change that dynamic, fast.