With less than two weeks before the Major League Baseball trade deadline, all eyes are on the Los Angeles Angels and whether they will be buyers or sellers.
If they decide to sell and think their playoff chances are slim, teams will likely be selling the farm to get their hands on two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who is in the last year of team control and will become a free agent at season’s end.
Ohtani gave up four homers in Friday night’s 8-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, but thinking about his future was not on his mind after the game. His start could be his last at Angels Stadium before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
“That didn’t cross my mind at all,” Ohtani said after the game. “Obviously, I’m a part of the Angels at this moment, and I feel like we’re in a decent spot to make a playoff run, so I just try not to really think about that.”
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The Angels began the day 50-48, having won four games in a row and sit four games out of the last Wild Card spot in the American League.
The 40,309 fans in attendance for Friday’s game certainly don’t want to see him, shouting “MVP! MVP!”
“I’m very happy to hear this, obviously,” Ohtani said. “But at the same time, I felt like I could have performed better and given us a better shot.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani: Trade deadline ‘did not cross my mind at all’