Now the bleak reconstruction begins for the Los Angeles Angels, who tried just about everything they could to convince Shohei Ohtani to stay. They took him off the trade market in 2022 and again in 2023, when conventional wisdom suggested they should deal him to get proper value. They made aggressive trades from an already thin farm system last summer, to demonstrate to him that they were trying to win. Throughout the bidding process, the Angels thought they had at least a shot to re-sign, because they had deferred to him over and over.
Every major decision that the Angels made in the last couple of years was made with a view toward Ohtani's situation, in keeping open the possibility of retaining him. After all, Ohtani was their best hitter and their best pitcher, someone who accounted for nearly 20 percent of their homers last season, almost 15 percent of their runs scored, and more than a quarter of their stolen bases. Ohtani had an ERA of 3.14 last season; the Angels' ERA was 4.79 when someone else pitched.
And despite all their hopes, he's gone. Ohtani announced on Saturday that he will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now, in the ripples of his departure, owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian must try to invent a way to win in an AL West that includes the defending champion Texas Rangers; the Houston Astros, who've merely won the division in the last six full seasons; and the Seattle Mariners, who have cut payroll this winter but still possess high-end talent.
They were a 73-win team with Ohtani last season, and for the sake of hope, for the sake of selling tickets, they have to imagine another path. And there's some relief in there for the front office, who now are able to turn their attention to other players and other paths.
Here's some of what is being talked about within the organization, along with the (admittedly small) silver lining they're trying to take from losing a generational talent:
1. More than ever, they need Mike Trout back on the field. Over the last three seasons, the player long known as the best in the game has missed 259 games because of a variety of injuries. They have been so frequent that this season he was apologizing to others for his absence. He's under contract for about $260 million over the next seven seasons and, quite simply, there's no chance for the Angels to be relevant any time soon unless Trout plays more and produces more. The same is true with third baseman Anthony Rendon, who is owed $115 million over the next three seasons. The Angels will pay Rendon and Trout $75 million a year through 2026 -- that's more for two players than the Orioles paid their entire 101-win roster last season.
The (absurdly microscopic) silver lining: One small consolation for the Angels is that the departure of Ohtani does open the designated hitter spot for new manager Ron Washington to use as a way to keep Trout or Rendon in the lineup while working them through weariness or small nagging injuries. The DH was never available to former manager Phil Nevin in this way, hampering his effort to keep Trout and Rendon swinging.
2. Sure, Ron Washington would have rather entered a clubhouse that has the defending MVP in it, but the Angels are still hoping their new skipper fosters a different culture. Anyone around the Atlanta Braves in recent years will testify that Washington and first base coach Eric Young helped that group of players have as much fun on a daily basis as any team, with Washington using humor to help push his group forward. The Angels need a lot to go right to contend next season, said one former player, "but you can bet that (Washington) is going to make their situation better."
The (absurdly microscopic) silver lining: Though analytic departments will argue that over the course of a long season, managers don't typically make that much of a difference, the Rangers might say differently -- they went after another veteran, Bruce Bochy, who took a 68-win team to a championship in 2023.
3. Suddenly, the Angels have found themselves with some financial flexibility and dollars to spend -- and according to rival executives, they have also explored the pitching market on some of the players available for trade. Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians could be a target, and they could be a match for the Rays as Tampa Bay looks to offload the $25 million contract of Tyler Glasnow, or with the Milwaukee Brewers, who are open to conversations involving Corbin Burnes. The Angels traded prospect assets before the deadline last summer, which puts them at a disadvantage in a prospect-for-prospect bidding war -- but with other teams balking at the high prices, Anaheim could land one of those aces.
The (absurdly microscopic) silver lining: Ohtani was their best pitcher in '23, but whether he re-signed with the Angels or not, he likely wasn't going to be available to pitch for them at all in '24 because of the arm injury that he suffered last summer. Either way, Minasian was going to need help. This winter's market is relatively flush with starting pitching, less so for hitting, which fits the Angels' needs.