Blue Jays fans can officially cross off trading for Shohei Ohtani

With the trade deadline just one day away, the rumour mill is at an all-time high. With big league stars like Juan Soto potentially being dealt and a few trades already going through like Brewers closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres, the Blue Jays have yet to pull the trigger on any trades as of right now but should be in the mix over the next 24 hours.

One player that started to hear their name amongst the trade rumours was two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani with the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani is one of the best players in the game, earning the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2018 and taking the MVP Award last season to go along with a Silver Slugger and two All-Star appearances. The lefty-batter is up to his old tricks again this season, slashing .255/.352/.495 with 22 home runs and a .847 OPS while pitching to a 2.81 ERA through 17 starts, striking out batters at a 13.1 K/9 through 99.1 innings.

Considering Ohtani is one of the best players in the game and the Angels are slowly seeing their playoff hopes dissipate after a strong start, there were some rumours floating around that Los Angeles was considering trading their star player considering he is free agent eligible following the 2023 campaign. That however can now be put to rest, as Jon Heyman with the New York Post is reporting that the Angels will not be trading their superstar player even though they did receive some serious trade offers from teams across the league.

The Los Angeles Angels are reportedly set to not trade Shohei Ohtani this trade deadline, with Blue Jays fans hoping the two sides could work out a deal.

It appears that ownership is unwilling to trade Ohtani at this time, which could be influenced by the fact both Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are currently on the IL and the Japanese product is easily one of the biggest draws for the current Angels squad. The trade return for the superstar would be significant, most likely eclipsing any deal trade made at the deadline due to his two-way abilities (barring whatever Soto gets should he be traded).

For the Blue Jays, it didn’t appear that they were seriously interested in acquiring Ohtani, although it might just not be known at this time or there were potentially some discussions behind closed doors. It would severely deplete the Jays’ prospect depth to acquire him but adding a left-handed bat and a premier starting free agent for the next one and a half seasons is a game changer for the squad, especially since they should be playoff contenders this year and next.

Any Blue Jays fans hoping for a superstar transaction will have to focus their attention east to the Nationals, as Juan Soto could be dealt before Tuesday’s deadline and create an even more dangerous lineup should the front office be willing to part with numerous top prospects and potentially some MLB calibre players.