Otani eventually failed to escape LAA → Rather, the possibility of a beautiful breakup has increased...The team is the 'last game' for PS

The LA Angels eventually decided not to trade Shohei Otani (29, LA Angels) during the season. As a result, chances have increased that they will have a beautiful breakup with each other after the season. While the club did not trade Otani, it showed a strong will to "try to the end" by making a winning move for the postseason. As a result, starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (29, USA) and relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (29, Dominican Republic) were recruited to further strengthen their power. It's really interpreted as the last game.

The U.S. media ESPN reported on the 27th that "the LA Angels made a trade to send catcher Edgar Cuero and left-hander Kai Bush instead of receiving Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox."

Earlier, another media outlet Sports Illustrated quoted a club source as saying, "The Los Angeles Angels have received various trade offers for Otani over the past two days. As a result of the team's internal discussions, the Angels eventually decided to keep Otani, he said. "In addition, the Angels decided to become a buyer ahead of the trade deadline." Citing sources, the two media said, "The Angels notified the club that they would not trade Otani to the club that inquired about the trade for Otani." 스포츠토토

"There is no giving up on autumn baseball." LA Angels will be with Ohtani until the end of the season even if they miss it... "Starting + recruiting bullpen resources."

In fact, rumors of Ohtani trade seem to be ending. Otani joined the LA Angels in 2018 after going through the Japanese professional baseball stage. Since then, he has established himself as a superstar representing the big leagues by working as a pitcher and batter in the Major League. This season, Ohtani is also performing well as a pitcher, marking 8 wins, 5 losses, and a 3.71 ERA. He is also trying to create a new history once again with a batting average of 0.299 and 36 home runs, 77 RBIs and 12 steals. This season, Ohtani is running first in home runs, triples (7), walks (62), and slugging percentage (0.668).

Otani will qualify for the FA after this season. Currently, there is a blockbuster prospect in the U.S. that Otani's contract will range from about $500 million (about 636.5 billion won) to $600 million (about 763.8 billion won). There are many teams that want Otani. In the local area, the names of the New York Yankees and LA Dodgers, as well as the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres have been consistently mentioned.

Above all, there is a reason why Otani's trade rumors have been hot. It was because of the possibility of the LA Angels advancing to the postseason. Ohtani is desperate to win the championship more than anyone else. In that respect, the Angels seemed to be losing ground in the fall baseball competition this season. This season, the Angels are in third place in the American League West with a 52-49 record. The team is tied with the Texas Rangers (60-43) in seven games. However, the Angels have recently been successful in rebounding. His last seven games are six wins and one loss, and he is not in the top five in the wild card competition, but he is not yet in the stage to give up his win with four games against the third-place Toronto Blue Jays (57-46). The Angels have 61 games left this season. Depending on the results of the remaining games, he may take the fall baseball stage for the first time in nine years since 2014.

If there is no possibility of advancing to the postseason this year, it may be a better choice for the Angels to bring a promising player with abundant potential instead of boldly sending Otani to other clubs. It is investing for the future at a time when the possibility of autumn baseball has disappeared anyway. In Major League Baseball, if it is determined that it has become difficult to advance to the postseason that year, it may use a strategy to trade key players and a number of promising players. As a result, the LA Dodgers, which has the most promising players (9 in the top 100 selected by the MLB pipeline) among the 30 Major League Baseball clubs, and the Baltimore Orioles, which are ranked No. 1 in the American League East, were mentioned as candidates for trade. "Baltimore has eight of the top 100 prospects in the MLB pipeline, including Jackson Holiday, who was recently promoted to the Double-A stage," the official Major League website MLB said.

However, the Angels team finally decided to continue challenging fall baseball for the rest of the period with Ohtani. Originally, MLB quoted John Heyman as saying, "The Angels have a 25% chance of trading Ohtani at the trade deadline, and a 5-10% chance of signing Ohtani to a long-term contract at the end of the season." The major league trade deadline is August 2nd, Korean time (August 1st, local time). Sports Illustrated said, "Perry Minassian Angels general manager plans to focus on recruiting starting pitchers and relief pitchers before the trade deadline," but the team immediately took action and further strengthened the mound.

Giolito, who was recruited through the trade this time, played in 168 Major League Baseball games, recording 59 wins, 53 losses, and a 4.26 ERA. In 2019, he was selected as the sixth-ranked American League Cy Young Award voting and the Major League All-Star with 14 wins, 9 losses, and a 3.41 ERA. This season, Giolito is 6 wins, 6 losses, and a 3.79 ERA in 21 games. Lopez also played in 216 big league games, recording 38 wins, 47 losses, 20 holds, 4 saves, and a 4.42 ERA. In 43 games this season, he had 2 wins, 5 losses, 10 holds, 4 saves, and a 4.29 ERA.