Angels decided to bet on Shohei Ohtani
In deciding to retain future free agent Shohei Ohtani and become buyers in the midseason market, the Los Angeles Angels opted to go all out when their cards aren’t strong enough to win the game.
In poker jargon it is called “bluff” when a player does not have a good hand, but bets or raises as if he had it, seeking to deceive or confuse his opponents.
Los Angeles informed all concerned Wednesday that Ohtani will not be traded before next Tuesday’s deadline, Buster Olney reported.
Ohtani, the best player in the Major Leagues today, thanks to his ability to hit and throw at a star level, will be able to declare himself a free agent after the next World Series. At 29 years of age, with his unique abilities and, most likely, with a second AL MVP award in the last three years, the Japanese will be in position to demand the biggest sports contract of all time in USA.
Immediately after the report surfaced that it would not trade Ohtani, the Anaheim-based team “pulled the trigger,” sacrificing two of its top prospects, Cuban catcher Edgar Quero (#2) and left-handed pitcher Ky Busch ( #3), to acquire pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, the last Dominican, from the Chicago White Sox.
Los Angeles is also holding talks with various fronts, including the Washington Nationals for 3B Jeimer Candelario, to try to improve the roster and be in a better position to fight for a postseason berth in the last two months of control over Ohtani.
On the other hand, superstar outfielder Mike Trout began swinging lightly Wednesday, an important step in the rehabilitation process for his operated left wrist. Neither Trout nor the Angels have given a probable return date for the three-time MVP winner’s lineup.
So far, all the points that support the Anaheim executives, who apparently relied on the phrase “No risk, no reward” to make a decision.
But Los Angeles (52-49), which is seven games in the West and behind three teams and four games out of the young circuit’s third and final wild card, risks losing Ohtani for nothing, and the prospects who it has given in and could still give in, and still be out of the October competition.
Today, Fangraphs projects that Los Angeles will win about 83 games, the ninth most in a league that ranks six. It also gives Arturo Moreno’s team a 17.2% chance of reaching the playoffs.
And it is true that these tendencies could improve a bit with the latest movements, but it is appropriate to remember that Anaheim is a specialist in “Bad Beat” (that is what they call in poker when a good hand with which, statistically, one should win, does not win). .
Despite the fact that he had Albert Pujols (a triple MVP and future Hall of Famer, together as early as 2028), Trout and Ohtani for five seasons (2018-22) and Ohtani and Trout for the last few six, Anaheim hasn’t played a postseason game in nine years.
And it’s not that going all-in is a bad thing, but sometimes, even with a good hand (which isn’t the Anaheim situation), it’s recommended to “check” (pass) purely for protection reasons.
