10 teams that need to trade for Shohei Ohtani right now (and have the prospects to do it)
The Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are below the Orioles in the standings but they are still only 3.5 games back in the AL Wild Card hunt at 50-50.
Their starting rotation has been decimated by injuries as Chris Sale has missed (virtually) the entire season. They also only have four starters with double-digit starts … and two of them are currently on the IL.
The Red Sox also have the prospects, as they have four prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100, including two in the top 15.
Offensively, they need some help, particularly in the outfield. But neither Ohtani nor J.D. Martinez (their DH) have played a single inning in the outfield this season. The Red Sox are already a bad defensive team so do they really want someone in the outfield who hasn’t played out there this year?
The New York Yankees
The Yankees are one of the best teams in the sport. They have a good starting rotation and they also have a good offense … but they have had a lot of injuries.
Currently, their primary DH Giancarlo Stanton is on the injured list with Achilles tendinitis. Also, starting pitcher Luis Severino (lat) has yet to resume throwing after being on the IL for the last two weeks. Ohtani could replace both of them.
The Yankees have a good farm system (five top 100 prospects) so while they don’t necessarily “need” Ohtani, acquiring him might put them over the top, particularly against a team like the Astros in the playoffs.
The Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays were really struggling but after firing manager Charlie Montoyo, they have gone 9-2 under new manager John Schneider.
One of their big issues is the backend of their rotation. Of their five primary starters, three of them have an ERA of 3.30 or lower. The other two have an ERA north of 5.00. One of those starters (Yusei Kikuchi) is also on the injured list.
Offensively, unlike the other AL East teams mentioned so far, they do have room for him. At DH, the Jays have largely used the spot as a half day off for their regular position players. Catcher Alejandro Kirk (30 games), first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (21 games), and center fielder George Springer (20 games) have DH’d the most.
The Jays also have four of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects and three of those four are in Double-A or Triple-A, which could be intriguing for the Angels.
The Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians, surprisingly, have not had a great starting pitching staff this season after having good starters for much of the last 15 years but with Shohei Ohtani, he would address that new issue and a long-standing issue: not enough offense.
For their rotation, Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie have each been excellent and Cal Quantrill and Zach Plesac have been around league average. But the fifth starter spot has been more problematic. Aaron Civale is on the IL (for a second time) and his ERA is north of 6.00.
Offensively, their DHs have a wRC+ of 76, which is second-worst in the majors. Getting Ohtani there would take their league average offense (100 wRC+) over the top.
For prospects, they have a staggering eight top 100 prospects so even if they trade half of them, they still would have a very strong farm system so if they truly want Ohtani, they, perhaps more than any other team on this list, should be able to get it done.
The Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a team on the periphery of being able to get a playoff spot as they are 47-52 and five games back of the final NL Wild Card spot. However, they already have a good nucleus and could surprise some people if they get enough offense in the mix. Shohei Ohtani could obviously help with that.
Offensively, All-Star Garrett Cooper (their primary DH) is on the IL. Also, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Brian Anderson, and Jorge Soler are all on the IL. As a team, their wRC+ is 95, which is 20th in the sport.
For the starters, Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez have been two of the best starters in the sport. Braxton Garrett has also been good. However, Trevor Rogers has regressed a lot and Eliser Hernandez is on the IL and has struggled.
For the return to the Angels, the Marlins have three prospects in MLB’s Top 50.
The St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals only have four starters with at least 10 starts. Two of of them are on the injured list. Three more pitchers have at least five starts and two of them have an ERA of 4.85 or higher. Their team ERA is 4.06, or 17th in baseball so they need to address it.
Offensively, Albert Pujols has only been a part-time DH (38 games) but five more players have done it at least a dozen times. Pujols has played first base some as well so Ohtani could take over the reins there while still giving Pujols as much playing time as he has had so far.
They also have five top 100 prospects.
The Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are a team that is most likely not going to make the playoffs. However, as GM Bill Schmidt told our sister site, Rox Pile, earlier this week, the club still could be buyers at the trade deadline.
Entering this season, they were banking on strong starting pitching but they have had some injuries and some of them have regressed. As a result, their starters had an ERA of 5.00 entering Thursday, which was 28th in the sport.
Offensively, despite the common narrative, the Rockies do not have a great offense. They have primarily been using Charlie Blackmon as their DH since he is 36 years old and not a great defensive outfielder.
They believe that they can get back in the playoff race this season and will be contenders next season so if that’s the case, they should be willing to give up some of their prospects (including five in MLB’s Top 100) to make that a reality.
The San Francisco Giants
The Giants are on the periphery of the playoff picture right now as they have lost seven of their last 10 games, dropping them to a record of 49-50, or three games back of the NL Wild Card spot. Acquiring Shohei Ohtani could be the shot in the arm that the Giants need to get to the playoffs as they did last year, when they won 107 games.
They have a decent farm system as they have three Top 100 prospects (two of which are in the top 50). They also have two starters that have been below league average on the season. Offensively, their primary DH has been Tommy La Stella, who has an OPS+ of 75.
The San Diego Padres
The Padres are a team that has been in on Juan Soto so they definitely should be in on Shohei Ohtani.
At the DH spot, they have primarily had Luke Voit there (106 wRC+). His only other position is first base but Eric Hosmer has only hit .221/.281/.319 so, at bare minimum, Voit and Hosmer could platoon at first base.
For starting pitching, MacKenzie Gore just hit the 15-day IL. Sean Manaea and Blake Snell also have an ERA+ of 88 and 80 so there is a need for starting pitching.
Like the Giants, they have three top Top 100 prospects.
All 10 of these teams would really like to get Shohei Ohtani and with the Angels in the state that they are, it might be best to maximum their return for him, especially if they don’t think that they can extend him. If they do decide to trade him and if the Nationals trade Juan Soto at the deadline as well, we could be in for one of the biggest blockbusters of a trade deadline ever.
Next. How much Juan Soto is worth to the San Diego Padres?. dark