Shohei Ohtani Trade Rumors: MLB Insider ‘Not Surprised’ If Chicago Cubs Make Offseason Move For Angels Superstar

Could Shohei Ohtani be on the move this offseason?

With the Los Angeles Angels parting ways with manager Joe Maddon mid-season, the club is finishing up yet another year to forget despite having two of the very best players in the league in Mike Trout and Ohtani.

Given their disappointment over the past five years, many are wondering if its time for a full rebuild in LA, which would undoubtedly be an accelerated process given the haul they could get for Ohtani’s services.

Over the Trade Deadline, many team were calling the Angels trying to acquire Ohtani. But when push came to shove, LA’s brass opted not to pull the trigger on a deal.

However, some around the game think they might be more tempted to trade Ohtani in the offseason. And one MLB insider has a team in mind: the Chicago Cubs.

“A huge part of the Ohtani conversation here might be that the Angels are sort of talking – and this is hard to do because of the way the rules work in baseball – but remember where the Cubs finished in the derby to get Ohtani at the beginning?” MLB Network insider Jon Morosi said on Parkins & Spiegel Show on Friday afternoon. “My understanding was they were a pretty compelling place.

They put together a pretty good sales pitch. Theo (Epstein) was still with the Cubs obviously at that point in time. My understanding is the Cubs were impressive to Shohei’s camp. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Shohei were to be traded to the Cubs, and you look around and this is to me a compelling time to join the Cubs. They’re going to get better. They’ve already been pretty good through the last couple months. There are better days ahead for the Cubs. And I think if Ohtani were to come to Chicago and look around, I feel better about the Cubs’ next five years than I do the Angels’ next five years. And you look at the division, and Milwaukee is sort of in a perpetual cycle of having to make trades like the one they did with (Josh) Hader. The Cardinals, I think you look at their roster, they might turn over here in the next couple years as well. Obviously, there are some prominent retirements happening for them. I think there’s an opening there for the Cubs. I really do. They’re going to be a very compelling team to keep (an eye on).”

The Cubs are in a bit of a rebuild themselves, but after adding the likes of Marcus Stroman and Seiya Suzuki last offseason, the general consensus around the league is that they’ll be buyers again this upcoming offseason.

The team has already been linked to a few different shortstops on the market, but adding a generational star like Shohei Ohtani would bring a whole new vibe to the North Side of Chicago.

Expect this MLB offseason to be flooded with rumors surrounding Ohtani.

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