Shohei Ohtani in pinstripes? Don't count it out. One MLB pundit believes the phenom could land in New York this year if the Angels make him available.
It's a bit obvious, no? If the best player in baseball were to become available in 2023, the New York Yankees, one of the most valuable MLB franchises, would pick up the phone.
But before indulging that proposition, a pivotal fact must be addressed: Would the Los Angeles Angels trade Shohei Ohtani in the first place? All signs right now point to no.
As funny as it would be to see the Yankees pillaging their farm system to acquire Ohtani only to lose him in free agency next year, an Ohtani trade is probably not in the cards right now.
In the unlikely event it does happen, ESPN's Buster Olney scratched that itch for all Yankees fans. Per Olney, New York could be the "most motivated" to pursue Ohtani in the middle of the 2023 season; the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays also make the short list as surprise suitors .
Olney said on "Get Up":
"You start with the Yankees, the Yankees, the Yankees, the Yankees, the Yankees, the Rangers, the Rays. Maybe a small handful of teams. But there's no doubt — I talked to sources yesterday — they see the Yankees as potentially being the most motivated because Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton. They're middle-aged players right in the prime of their careers. This is the Yankees' window to win now."
Yankees, Rangers, Rays named potential Shohei Ohtani trade suitors
Again, the Angels have done and said nothing to suggest the club is planning to deal Ohtani before the August 1 deadline. L.A. may still have skin in the playoff race, and the club may be prepared to get down on their knees to beg Ohtani to stay when his contract runs out.
In his fever dream ramblings, Olney makes the most obvious statement of the year when he says the Yankees' rotation with Ohtani would look "so strong."
From New York's perspective, of course, the team wants Ohtani. Brian Cashman has had him at the top of his list for several seasons, and the Yankees already made a run for him last year. Ohtani would break the bank for the Yankees but could make up for it over time with merch sales, stadium attendance, and so on. No one with an ounce of sanity would pass on a generational talent like him.
Yet from Ohtani's perspective, the Yankees don't check off two of his boxes: Ohtani wouldn't be on the West Coast, and he probably wouldn't be able to live a private lifestyle — the NY media are relentless bulldogs.
It was only a matter of time before people started theorizing that the best player in baseball could join one of the most popular teams in baseball in an Infinity War move that would eternally alter the universe. For now, though, seeing Shohei Ohtani in pinstripes is nothing more than a delirious figment of imagination.