ESPN proposes unhinged Dodgers-Angels trade for Shohei Ohtani

Usually, this kind of stuff is reserved for the blogs looking for Click Nation, Click City, Click Country. But ESPN has now joined the Wild Wild West of searching for those hello-goodbye visitors … and we must say they’ve succeeded.

As most fans know, the trade deadline is fast approaching on Aug. 2, where many MLB teams will partake in the chaos, whether they’re upgrading or selling. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be among the former. They’re in the market for pitching, outfield depth and infield depth. It’s a championship team, but plenty of needs exist.

Their cross-city “rivals,” on the other hand? The Los Angeles Angels could be conducting a bit of a re-tool after falling off the face of the earth en route to another playoff-less, awful season.

That, apparently, has led ESPN Los Angeles to run with the loose speculation that’s circulated about a potential Shohei Ohtani trade. Yup, the undisputed best player in baseball. Could he be on the move? Sure … but we wouldn’t bet on it.

Even less likely is an LA local trade involving the Angels and Dodgers, but that didn’t stop ESPN LA from pitching it!

And did they pitch it, alright. They pitched it so hard that they may have broken the system. The internet shall no longer be allowed to propose trades after this mother to end all discourse on that front.

https://twitter.com/ESPNLosAngeles/status/1545201932049952768?s=20&t=2Z4zbTBO0b7jY1FPOCkZ9w

This Angels-Dodgers hypothetical Shohei Ohtani trade from ESPN is mental

John Ireland of ESPN Los Angeles has proposed the following … and actually asked “Who says no?” in one of the most jarring pieces of content you’ll see, hear and read this year:

• Dodgers receive: SP/DH Shohei Ohtani
• Angels receive: SS Trea Turner, SP Julio Urías, SP Tony Gonsolin, SP Tyler Anderson and SP Dustin May

In essence, the Dodgers decimate their current pitching staff, which is already a problem at the moment, for less than 1.5 years of Ohtani, who will require a mammoth contract after whatever insane raise he gets in arbitration before the 2023 season.

Now, if the Dodgers want to punt the 2022 season, work on getting Ohtani under a long-term contract, and cultivate the promising young talent in their farm to be ready for 2023 and 2024, then this is a great idea! But why would they want to do that when they’re still well positioned for those years without Ohtani?

This deal also includes zero prospects, which is insane for both sides. The Dodgers can’t conceivably trade five major leaguers for one and expect to be better off from it, even if it’s a player of Ohtani’s caliber. Getting rid of 3/5 of your rotation and the NL All-Star Game’s starting shortstop, who offers very good defense at a premier position, one-of-a-kind speed, and a unique power/speed combo, would murder the Dodgers’ already dwindling depth, and it’d force them to make a series of other trade deadline moves of great magnitude that would be incredibly difficult to pull off.

Additionally, the Angels would be receiving two guys slated for free agency after the 2022 season and one guy (Urías) likely due for a massive contract extension, so how would this work for them?!

The Angels might be a laughingstock and the Dodgers might need some serious pitching help and left-handed power hitting … but this deal doesn’t work for either side, and it’s hard to even argue that it might.

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