Angels announcer discusses possible trade of Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles Angels play-by-play announcer Wayne Randazzo suggested team owner Arte Moreno views trading two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this summer as bad business. 

"I wouldn’t want to be that guy either," Randazzo said during the "Awful Announcing Podcast" (h/t Sam Neumann) about being known as the owner who shipped Ohtani out of town. "I think losing him in free agency is a different pill to swallow than trading him." 

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said before the All-Star break that "Moreno almost certainly doesn’t want to be responsible for trading a player who is the best of our generation, and maybe the best of all time" even though the injury-plagued 45-46 Angels are likely more pretenders than championship contenders as Ohtani heads toward reaching free agency. Fourth-place Los Angeles began Thursday trailing the first-place Texas Rangers by seven games in the American League West standings, and the Angels were five games back of a wild-card berth at that time. 

Retired slugger and current Fox Sports personality Alex Rodriguez raised eyebrows during All-Star week when he argued the Angels should embrace a full rebuild and trade both Ohtani and three-time AL Most Valuable Player Mike Trout for an epic haul of assets. Randazzo shared at least one reason Moreno may not go down that road before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. 

"If you’re around the Angels and around Angels stadium, the influx of Asian fans is palpable," Randazzo explained. "You see Asian fans all over the ballpark when the Angels are home, especially; even on the road wearing Angels gear, being part of the organization, being part of that fanbase, that I’m sure weren’t there before. Maybe some of them will stay, but I think most of them are there because of Shohei Ohtani." 

The Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly are "the consensus front-runners" to sign Ohtani assuming the 29-year-old hits the open market. Randazzo indicated Moreno thinks losing Ohtani for nothing after this season is better than giving up on potentially re-signing the phenom while the Angels still hold his rights.

"...To physically put Shohei in a different uniform, I think, is not a great business move," Randazzo continued. "It might be the better baseball move. Maybe on the field, it makes sense because you don’t think you’re gonna keep him, so you want to get younger prospects that can help you win later..." 

For a piece published Thursday, CBS Sports personality Matt Snyder (h/t Mike Axisa) noted that the Angels will spend the next several months doing "anything they can to convince (Ohtani) it's worth staying." Trading Ohtani takes such discussions off the table, and that may be the biggest reason Moreno won't sign off on such a transaction.