Should the Angels trade Ohtani?

The Los Angeles Angels have fallen back in the playoff picture of late as the franchise tries to make the postseason for the first time since 2014. With recent injuries to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon on top of having Brandon Drury, Gio Urshela, Logan O'Hoppe, Zach Neto, and others already sidelined, the Angels will be in tough to close the gap in the standings.

With the Aug. 1 trade deadline rapidly approaching, all eyes will be on the future of Shohei Ohtani and what the Angels might do with the transcendent star as his free agency looms following the season. Michael Bradburn and Josh Goldberg debate whether or not the Halos should ride out Ohtani's Angels tenure or bite the bullet on a trade to at least get something in return.

Don't trade the generational superstar

Angels general manager Perry Minasian is in an unenviable position. On the one hand, he could keep Ohtani and potentially lose him for nothing in free agency. On the other, Minasian could opt to trade Ohtani for a package of prospects that are anything but a guarantee to pan out.

If Minasian decides to move Ohtani, he'll always be remembered as the executive who traded one of the most unique talents ever. The Angels should throw caution to the wind and do everything in their power to try to maximize the opportunity to win this season and convince Ohtani they're the best club for him moving forward.

Many assume Ohtani will leave the Angels in free agency. If Los Angeles ends up missing the postseason yet again, it's easy to see why that would be the prevailing thought. However, Ohtani and the Angels have finally found a sweet spot that allows him to pitch and hit to the best of his immense capabilities. There's no guarantee that moving to another team with a whole new staff will enable Ohtani to replicate the magic he's found with the Angels over the past three seasons.

Ohtani clearly wants to win, and it's easy to look at a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers as a better opportunity to chase championships. It's no secret that the Angels have come up embarrassingly short in the quest to put together a consistent contender around two of the game's greatest stars in Ohtani and Trout. Despite that, the Angels should continue to try to turn over every available stone to maximize the window of opportunity with the two stars in the fold. Trading Ohtani would send a message to Trout, the rest of the clubhouse, and the entire Angels fanbase that they're not fully committed to winning. They should keep Ohtani after Aug. 1 and let the chips fall where they may this winter. - Goldberg

Trade the generational superstar who's leaving anyways

Goldberg makes some great points, notably that the Angels could still hang around the wild-card conversation enough to convince Ohtani that theirs is a winning environment and potentially his best chance at claiming a title. Ohtani isn't gone until he's truly gone, right?

Unfortunately not. Staying in the wild-card conversation this year simply won't undo six consecutive years of not reaching the playoffs. The money is important to many players, but in deciding to come over while he was still beholden to international prospect contracts (ensuring he'd only make $39.7 million over his first six seasons in MLB when he could've easily eclipsed that if he waited to come over after his 25th birthday), Ohtani has demonstrated that cash alone doesn't rule his decision-making.

So, Minasian is left with the incredibly unenviable position of at least trying to minimize the damage of Ohtani leaving.

Right now, if the Angels offer Ohtani the one-year qualifying offer and then let him walk in free agency, they're in line to receive a compensatory draft pick immediately following the second round. The 60th pick is reasonably valuable, sure. But not nearly as valuable as what you could potentially get from a suitor on the trade market prior to this year's deadline.

If Ohtani is made readily available, even as a rental for a postseason push, many teams will be falling over themselves to fork over a slew of top prospects. And the Angels shouldn't just jump at any package; they should be able to leverage offers against each other with the assumption that whoever trades for Ohtani will get a leg up at extending him as well. A couple of months to sell the one-of-one phenom on your city and organization while hopefully making a deep October run should bolster the Angels' trade demands.

For that reason, Minasian should be able to try to demand a similar package to what the Washington Nationals were able to secure for Juan Soto, despite the San Diego Padres getting two and a half years of the outfielder. That return included four top-tier prospects: MacKenzie Gore, C.J. Abrams, Robert Hassell III, and James Wood. If the crosstown Dodgers want to trade for Ohtani, they'd likely assume they'll be able to convince him to stay on a $500-million deal. That means the package coming back to the Angels must start with at least three of Bobby Miller, Diego Cartaya, Michael Busch, Gavin Stone, Andy Pages, and Emmet Sheehan.

This really does become about damage control at some point. And while it hurts a lot to lose Ohtani, you still have to do right by Trout and focus on building a winner around the generational star who doesn't want to leave. - Bradburn