MLB Network’s Jon Morosi described it as “due diligence”
It’s beyond my ability to imagine Shohei Ohtani playing for the Orioles. Just on a basic level, the idea of the league’s single most interesting player across multiple seasons being on the O’s is unfathomable. On a more detail-oriented level, the idea of Mike Elias unloading from the farm to pay what’s probably going to be a serious premium if the Angels decide to trade Ohtani is also beyond me. I’m also not convinced John Angelos would absorb the remaining $10 million of Ohtani salary even if Elias found a package of prospects the Angels would take that he didn’t mind losing.
With that said, my not being able to believe it might happen is not a good reason to keep me from passing along a little trade rumor for those who want to believe. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported on Monday night that the Orioles (along with the Diamondbacks) are “among teams inquiring with the Angels about Shohei Ohtani’s availability.” Morosi described this as “due diligence” and noted that the team has the “young talent base” to make a trade possible.
Longtime readers of Camden Chat may recall Brown’s Law of Baseball Rumors: Probably nothing will happen. (I named it after myself, sorry not sorry.) The reason why this is my law is because usually nothing happens. For any given rumor, it is possible that the person passing along the rumor to the reporter does not know what they are talking about. It is possible they know what they are talking about and not telling the truth. If the rumor is true, it may not be indicative of anything serious.
Morosi’s rumor hits this last one. An inquiry that counts as due diligence is not particularly serious. Asking about availability could mean literally just “Are you going to trade him?” And the Angels might not trade him! They are only four games out of a wild card spot heading into Monday’s games. Or if they do trade him, they might be asking a price that exceeds the Orioles comfort level of prospects to trade away.
A whole lot of teams will be interested if Ohtani becomes available and it doesn’t mean much that the O’s have asked. Others beyond the O’s and Diamondbacks have surely done so also. So, probably nothing will happen. But if you want to dream between now and August 1 – or whenever Ohtani is traded somewhere else – don’t let my grip on reality stop you.