Will Angels' Shohei Ohtani Be Moved At Trade Deadline? DraftKings Releases Odds

The biggest story in MLB is the Los Angeles Angels possibly moving superstar Shohei Ohtani at or before August 1st's trade deadline. Shohei is virtually a lock to win the 2023 AL MVP with odds -1000 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

As of Monday, July 24th, Shohei leads the MLB in home runs (36), is 1st among qualified everyday hitters in wRC+ (184), is 3rd in RBI (77) and leads the AL in WAR (5.0), according to FanGraphs.

Of course, Ohtani is one of the best pitchers in baseball as well. Shohei is 8-5 as a starter, 3rd in MLB for strikeouts per nine (11.9), and 11th in expected FIP ("fielding independent pitching"). Ohtani has the 4th-best Stuff+ in MLB, per FanGraphs.

Despite Shohei being the most talented MLB player ever, the Angels are still flirting with the idea of trading him. The Angels are 8 games back of the Rangers in the AL West. They are 4 games behind the Red Sox in the AL wild card race.

Angels RHP Shohei Ohtani's advanced pitching rankings according to MLB's Statcast.

More importantly, Ohtani is a free agent this offseason. It's unlikely the Angels will be able to resign Shohei. Theoretically, the Angels could get a king's ransom for Ohtani by moving him at the August 1st trade deadline.

No one is sure exactly where Shohei wants to take his talents next season. But, acquiring Ohtani to start a must-win game or to bat cleanup in your order could put several MLB teams in the "contender" category.

With that in mind, our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook opened up betting lines for ...

Shohei Ohtani's team following MLB's August 1st trade deadline at DraftKings Sportsbook

Betting odds for LA Angels' Shohei Ohtani's team post-August 1st MLB trade deadline from DraftKings as of 12:15 p.m. ET Monday, July 24th.

Best Value: New York Yankees (+1400)

The Yankees are six games above .500 and tied with the Red Sox for last place in the toughest division in MLB, the AL East. Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge is still on the IL with a toe injury. Also, NYY's lineup has been underwhelming in 2023.

As of July 24th, the Yankees rank 19th in WAR, 21st in wRC+, 23rd in wOBA, and tied for 26th in batting average, per FanGraphs. Since losing Judge to an injury, the Yankees are 17-20. Hence the Yankees need more pop in their lineup.

Ohtani poses for a photo with New York Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

NYY has a good young player (SS Anthony Volpe) and solid prospects in their farm system to offer for Shohei. Furthermore, the Yankees are one of the few MLB clubs with the money to resign Ohtani.

In fact, the ability to keep Shohei for the foreseeable future ruins the odds many MLB teams would trade for him including the ...

Sucker Bet: San Francisco Giants (+1000)

Remember this offseason when the "Giants signed Arson Judge" for a few minutes? I have a ton of friends from the Bay Area originally and a couple of them certainly remember the Giants ALMOST signing Judge.

That said, I never believed the Giants poached Judge from the Yankees. It wasn't just the misspelling of Judge's name on the Tweet but it's the fact that the Giants are never big spenders in free agency.

Ohtani stands on-deck waiting to pinch hit vs. the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

San Francisco could certainly use Shohei for an NL Pennant race. The Giants are 4 games behind the LA Dodgers for 1st place in the NL West but are currently an NL wild card seed. On paper, it makes sense for the Giants to inquire about Ohtani's services.

However, if DraftKings Sportsbook offered a "No, the Giants will NOT trade for Shohei Ohtani," I'd happily bet those odds.

'Lock': Los Angeles Angels (-300)

As boring as it is, I don't see the Angels trading Shohei by August 1st. Frankly, if Angels owner Arte Moreno trades Ohtani he should just sell the team too. That's how great Shohei is. What are you telling your fans by trading perhaps the greatest baseball player ever?

Why would anyone from Orange County continue to support the Angels? They've squandered most of Mike Trout's prime. The Angels have made the playoffs once in Trout's 13 years in Anaheim. Trading Ohtani should be death knell to the franchise.

Shohei Ohtani is congratulated by teammates after hitting a HR vs. the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Missouri. (Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports)

On top of that, again, the Angels are only 4 games back in the AL wild card race with 62 games remaining. That's not an insurmountable deficit. Trout is currently on the IL but his injury isn't season ending. The Angels could rally and eke into the AL playoffs.

Finally, the MLB trade deadline is only eight days away on August 1st. Meaning, -300 isn't too expensive for a bet that will be settled just eight days from when this article is written. As long as the bet is a "lock," which it is.