Shohei Ohtani’s Trusted Aid Reveals Angels’ Shocking Free Agency Move, Despite LA Rivals’ Strong Interest

When Shohei Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Angels fans were rightfully gutted. Despite having him for six years, unfortunately, he couldn’t lead the team to a single playoff game. Still, they remained hopeful that at least the team must have done everything to get Ohtani back. However, a shocking revelation may dampen that hope. Shohei Ohtani’s agent’s recent revelation makes one question whether the Angels did everything they could or not.

Ohtani’s $700 million contract at first sounds like a huge burden, but his deference makes it quite an affordable deal. As per reports, Ohtani was willing to offer this deference to every team, but even then the Angels didn’t budge from their stand.

The Angels’ surprising reluctance to get Shohei Ohtani

When Shotime chose the Angels in 2017, one of the chief reasons was that they were the only ones ready to let him both hit and pitch. Their relationship grew tremendously over the years, with Ohtani loving his time there. So when he entered his free agency, the Angels were given a fair chance to negotiate with him. But surprisingly, as Ohtani’s agent Nez Balelo revealed, the Halos showed no visible interest.

Jack Harris wrote in the LA Times that Ohtani, and Balelo were listening to every offer. Balelo said that Ohtani “made sure that I kept in touch with them… we felt that they earned the right to at least have a discussion at the end.” He ended by saying that the Angels had “every opportunity” to get Ohtani.

Though Balelo didn’t share why the Angels’ bid failed, Harris shared that it was because the Halos’ owner, Arte Moreno, refused to match the $700 million valuation. “Not even the late effort from Ohtani’s camp to continue negotiations changed his mind,” wrote Jack. On paper, this looks reasonable as no matter how big the Angels are, they aren’t the Dodgers when it comes to revenues. So, a $700 million signing could have jeopardized their team’s structure.

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But the high deference of Ohtani raises questions. This would have made the deal a little more affordable for the Angels. So, why didn’t the Halos at least take a chance to get back their biggest star? This could give fans another reason to question the ownership.

The tough relationship between fans and Arte Moreno

Moreno became a controversial figure within a few years after he changed the name of Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. His first decade was successful, but things have taken a big left turn recently. The team’s failure to make the playoffs for a decade has left the fans angry.

Coupled with consecutive losing seasons from 2017 to 2023, many are calling for Moreno to sell the team. In 2022, he announced that he was ready to sell but then quickly retracted. And now, with the loss of Ohtani, this contentious relationship will only worsen. How will the Halos bounce back?

Read more: Shohei Ohtani’s $680 Million Deferral: Unexpected $44 Million Escrow Account Revealed