KEY POINTS

  • The Cardinals emerged as the betting favorites to land Shohei Ohtani if the Angels agree to a trade
  • Ohtani has been producing good numbers, though the Angels continue to flounder
  • The Angels are set to miss the MLB playoffs again despite having Ohtani and Mike Trout in the lineup

The odds for Shohei Ohtani's potential next team are out, even though MLB teams doubt if the Los Angeles Angels are serious about trading the Japanese baseball player.

Assuming that the Angels somehow agree to a trade, Sportsbetting.ag listed the teams that have the best odds of getting the 28-year-old pitcher/outfielder.

In its list of trade odds, the St. Louis Cardinals are the favorite to land Ohtani if he is traded, with odds of +200. Rounding up the top five are the New York Yankees (+250), Los Angeles Dodgers (+300), San Diego Padres (+400) and the New York Mets (+550).

For those who may be surprised about St. Louis being the ideal landing spot for Ohtani, it may likely be because of their farm system. They currently have some attractive minor league prospects like third baseman Jordan Walker, shortstop Masyn Winn and pitcher Matthew Liberatore.

Should an Ohtani trade go down, such could cover the requirement of the Angels to get at least four top prospects.

The Mets reportedly have inquired about the availability of Ohtani but believe that the Angels are not serious about trading the Japanese player this season.

Andy Martino of SNY reported, citing an unnamed source, that even Angels executives are privately saying that an Ohtani trade was unlikely.

"Even Angels executives are privately saying that they are extremely unlikely to move Ohtani in-season, according to a third source in touch with that front office. If that were to change, the Mets would of course be interested. This feels like a space to watch this winter," Martino wrote.

Things have just not gone well for Los Angeles since the reigning AL MVP signed with the team. But although the Angels are likely to miss the playoffs for the eighth straight year, Ohtani, who is set to become a free agent in 2023, has been producing good numbers this season.

He has 21 home runs, 59 RBI and a .826 OPS. On the mound, Ohtani has gone 9-6 with a 2.81 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 145 strikeouts in 99.1 innings.

Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Angels
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitches in the bottom of the first inning of his Major League pitching debut against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on April 1, 2018 in Oakland, California. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
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