The Los Angeles Angels are dealing with injuries, fading playoff hopes, and one other major issue: the possibility of losing future free agent Shohei Ohtani.
With Ohtani’s impending free agency looming large over the season, it’s no surprise that the 29-year-old attracted a massive scrum of reporters during his appearance at MLB All-Star media day on Monday.
This angle of the Media Day crowd around Shohei Ohtani is absolutely insane pic.twitter.com/aMtPXQwjvO
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 10, 2023
The Angels star declined to engage on any topic related to the MLB trade deadline or his free agent status. He did, however, make one comment that piles even more pressure on the Angels. Ohtani admitted that all the losing in Anaheim has started to wear on him.
“Those feelings get stronger year by year,” Ohtani said through his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, via The Athletic’s Andy McCullough. “It sucks to lose. [I want] to win.”
The Angels have not made the playoffs since Ohtani arrived back in 2018. The team has yet to even post a winning record in that span, coming the closest during Shohei’s rookie season when the team finished 80-82.
It’s hard to blame Ohtani for feeling frustrated given that even his otherworldly two-way efforts haven’t been enough to lift the team to any postseason baseball.
There was always going to be pressure on the Angels this season to prove that they could build a winner around Ohtani. But with the MLB trade deadline drawing near and LA’s star vocalizing his distaste for all the losing, the pressure is now at an all-time high.
The Angeles’ record stands at 45-46 at the All-Star break, five games out of the closest AL Wild Card spot. If the Angels don’t turn the season around soon, Ohtani’s departure grows more and more likely. The Angels might have to re-evaluate their stance on the two-way star.
