- The St. Louis Cardinals are the -200 odds on favorite to land Shohei Ohtani if the Angels trade him.
- Top World Series favorites New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have the next best odds to acquire Ohtani at +250 and +300, respectively.
- Ohtani has reportedly told the Angels’ management that he does not intend to re-sign with the team after 2023 as he wants to play for a team that can contend for a championship.
Shohei Ohtani has told the Los Angeles Angels that he won’t re-sign with them after 2023 as he made it clear that he wants to play for a team that can compete for a championship. Now the Angles are open to trading one of the most unique talents to ever play baseball.
Sure, the Angels are still the solid -115 odds on favorite to keep Ohtani after this coming Tuesday’s 6 pm ET trade deadline If you translate that to implied probability, that’s 53.5%. However, there is a strong market if ever they decide to cash in on Ohtani and decide to rebuild after a disappointing season.
Cardinals Hold Best Odds of Possibly Landing Ohtani
MLB Rumors: Cardinals Hold Best Odds Of Possibly Landing Shohei Ohtani https://t.co/YppRyw8343
— Sports Bytes (@sportsph) July 31, 2022
According to online sportsbook BetOnline, the St. Louis Cardinals hold the best odds of possibly landing the Angels’ dual-threat superstar as the Cardinals have baseball’s second-best farm system after the 2022 MLB Draft.
St. Louis has some attractive MLB prospects like third baseman Jordan Walker, shortstop Masyn Winn, and left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore. The Cardinals also saw a pair of pitchers jumping up to Tier 1 status in Tink Hence and Gordon Graceffo. With the Angels reportedly looking for four top prospects in exchange for Ohtani, the Cardinals Farm System may have the names needed to pull off a deal.
The Cardinals are also in play for the National’s Juan Soto who also has the same dilemma as Ohtani. According to the top sportsbooks, St. Louis is a +250 to land Soto in a trade, the second-shortest odds after the San Diego Padres who are listed at +200. It would be a shock to see the Cardinals land both Ohtani and Soto but if the Angels are indeed serious in trading Ohtani, St. Louis at +200 odds would be a good idea.
Yankees Going After Ohtani?
LUPICA: The one player New York teams should want, and especially the Yankees, is Shohei Ohtani, the kind of player who comes around every hundred years. @MikeLupica https://t.co/j320ns9PZb
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 30, 2022
Interestingly, the New York Yankees have the second-best odds to land Ohtani at +250. The Yankees made the first big move of the trade deadline when they acquired All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals for three pitching prospects. But if the Yankees are looking for a true blockbuster deal at the deadline, none would be bigger than acquiring the once-in-a-hundred years talent from Japan.
Next on the BetOnline odds board are the Los Angeles Dodgers at +300. Los Angeles currently has the second-best record in baseball and the second-best odds to win the 2022 World Series, with both odds only behind the Yankees. Los Angeles has the third-best Farm System after this year’s draft. The San Diego Padres, who are the betting favorites to land Juan Soto, are next at +400. When the first Ohtani odds were released, the Padres opened as the top non-Angels destination for Ohtani at +500.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets, owners of the 6th best Farm System in baseball, are listed at +550. They are the fifth and last team with an implied probability of at least 10% to land Ohtani in a trade. The Toronto Blue Jays at +1000 and the Chicago White Sox at +1200 complete the BetOnline odds board.
