Where Could Shohei Ohtani Land at the Trade Deadline?

Several teams have emerged as possible contenders for a Shohei Ohtani trade with the Los Angeles Angels, who have reportedly left the door open to dealing their star before the Aug. 1 deadline. Where could the modern-era Babe Ruth end up for a postseason run?

Ohtani, 29, has never reached the playoffs in his six MLB seasons, and it isn’t looking good for the Angels again this season. Los Angeles is reeling after losing 11 of its last 13. But it’s not because of Ohtani, their two-way sensation who leads MLB in OPS, slugging, home runs and, as a pitcher, opponent batting average. On Sunday, he belted his 34th home run this season as the Angels blew a lead and lost 9-8 to the Houston Astros

MLB.com's Jon Morosi reported over the weekend that the Angels are in "listening mode," rather than risk Ohtani leaving as a free agent at the end of the season. Going into the second half, Vegas placed the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres as the leading contenders for Ohtani. The Yankees tried to acquire Ohtani last summer, but the Angels hung onto him. If he does land someplace, it would require a haul of established MLB players and minor league prospects to get him.

In 92 games, Ohtani, 29, is hitting .301, slugging .665 and with 34 home runs, is well on his way to surpassing his career-high for home runs (46) set in 2021. On the mound, he’s 7-5 with a 3.50 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 105.1 innings pitched, although he's struggled recently with finger problems.

In the next two weeks, the Angels must decide whether letting go of Ohtani would squander any chance they may have at a postseason berth. But they’re still behind three teams in the race for the final AL wild-card spot, and SportsLine gives them less than a 3% chance of making the postseason.