New York Yankees ‘most motivated’ to acquire Shohei Ohtani
The New York Yankees sit in fourth place in the AL East and need major help. Their pitching is struggling; their hitting is struggling. As the trade deadline approaches, the Yankees are motivated to fix both by acquiring Shohei Ohtani.
Buster Olney reported on ESPN’s “Get Up” that the Yankees were heavily interested in acquiring the two-way star.
“Well, you start with the Yankees. The Yankees, the Yankees, the Yankees. The Rangers, the Rays, maybe a small handful of teams, but there’s no doubt, talking with sources yesterday, they see the Yankees as potentially being the most motivated,” Olney said. “Because Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, they’re middle-aged players right in the prime of their careers.
Via The New York Post
It’s worth noting that Ohtani will be a free agent this winter, putting potential buyers against a wall. Is it worth trading an entire farm system for a rental? Sure, you’re getting the best player in baseball, but it won’t be cheap to get him to stay long term.
Even for the high-budget Yankees, Ohtani is going to require the biggest contract in sports history. Players such as Cole, Judge and Stanton make up most of their payroll, so locking down Ohtani long term would be tough.
There’s no doubt the Yankees need to do something at the deadline. They’ve been without Judge since the beginning of June, and their lineup has been crap ever since. Pitching-wise, the Yankees rotation has been struggling with regression and injuries all season. Luis Severino hasn’t been the same, and Nestor Cortes hasn’t pitched since May 30.
Even though the Angels should trade Ohtani, there’s still a large chance he stays in Los Angeles. The Angels are in fourth place in the AL West with a 45-46 record. Assuming the franchise still believes they could make a playoff push, Ohtani could finish out his sixth season in Anaheim.
Ohtani made it clear during the All-Star week that he’s ready to play for a winner. He’s hungry for the playoffs and needs to get away from the dysfunction in Los Angeles. Even though the Yankees are the last place most MLB fans want to see Ohtani end up, it would give him a better chance of tasting playoff baseball.
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