The Los Angeles Angels are reeling, with a 2-8 record in their past 10 games and Shohei Ohtani’s free agency looming this fall.
Would they be better off trading him before the Aug. 1 deadline?
Eric Karros thinks San Francisco makes sense as a destination for the two-way superstar, as the Giants are surging with a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates to begin the second half. While discussing Ohtani’s near future during an appearance on FOX MLB Saturday, Karros said, “He’s gonna be playing for the Giants.”
Karros joined 95.7 The Game Monday, as Evan Giddings and Larry Krueger were filling in for “Steiny & Guru”. Karros further explained why he thinks Ohtani is destined for McCovey Cove, even if it’s at the risk of being a two-month rental.
“I think San Francisco’s gonna be in the hunt come the offseason,” Karros said. “You get a hold of him now, you’ve basically got two months to wine and dine him and sell San Francisco – how great the organization is, living in the city, all that sort of stuff. Historically, if you look at what’s happened with San Francisco the last few years, just trying to go out and win the market on the free agent sweepstakes has not gone well. It didn’t work with (Carlos) Correa, it did not work with Aaron Judge. It always seems like that’s the one piece that keeps the Giants from getting over the hump.”
If you want to take it a step further, the Giants have also failed to lure high-profile free agents like Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton in recent years, while Carlos Rodón decided to opt out after one season and go to the Yankees.
Ohtani is a generational player who can help a team win a World Series, but at what price? Karros thinks the Giants would have to unload some of their top prospects and/or young guys who have recently broken through to the bigs.
“What are you gonna give up?” Karros said. “You’re probably gonna have to give up (southpaw) Kyle Harrison, that’s No. 1. If I’m Farhan (Zaidi), ‘Here’s my top 20 (prospects), you tell me what you want.’ Whether (Patrick) Bailey’s involved in that, (Luis) Matos, (Marco) Luciano. It’s gonna take a handful. Yes, it’s a gamble. There’s no question it's a gamble because you’re giving up something and you don’t even know if you’re gonna be able to sign him.”
Related
