New York Mets GM places interesting call to Los Angeles Angels

Few teams would know the Los Angeles Angels quite like the New York Mets. After all, their current general manager, Billy Eppler, had been the Angels’ general manager for five years before landing in New York. At the same time, the Angels may not be interested in making a trade with someone that knows the team so intimately.

That is not going to stop Eppler from shooting his shot. According to reports, Eppler aimed for the stars by calling the Angels about Shohei Ohtani.

New York Mets take their shot at Shohei Ohtani

Those talks likely did not go anywhere. The Angels have been adamant that they are not trading Ohtani despite the fact that they are clearly not going to contend this year. If they were to change that stance, trading Ohtani to the person that brought him to the Angels in the first place may not be the best optics.

But there is no harm in trying. The Mets have stated that they wanted to upgrade at the designated hitter spot and add a piece to the rotation. Ohtani would certainly fill both voids, giving the Mets yet another ace for their rotation while adding a power/speed element to their lineup that few players can match.

The odds were certainly going to be against the Mets landing Ohtani in trade. His price tag is likely to be higher than Juan Soto’s in terms of prospects, and that asking price was already called “asinine” by one executive. Ohtani’s cost would be utterly preposterous even in comparison.

Despite having emptied their farm system in various trades, the Mets do have prospects that could make a deal happen. They have four of the top 100 prospects in MLB.com’s latest update, including the top overall prospect in Francisco Alvarez. A trade for Ohtani may have a price tag of all of those players, but it could be well worth it.

The New York Mets contacted the Los Angeles Angels about Shohei Ohtani. While nothing happened, it was worth placing the call.