Angels make grave miscalculation by keeping Shohei Ohtani

The Angels have wasted the first five-and-a-half years of generational talent Shohei Ohtani's career. Instead of accepting their losses, the decision to double down and keep Ohtani through the trade deadline is as misguided as it is fitting.

It isn't much of a surprise Los Angeles would screw this up after years of squandering not only Ohtani but Mike Trout as well. No other sport could a team have the two best players in the league yet still never win a playoff series. Since signing Ohtani during the 2018 offseason, the Angels are 380-429 (.470).

Trading Ohtani could have set the Angels up for a bright future with multiple elite prospects but instead, they run the risk of losing him in free agency, with the crosstown Dodgers a likely destination.

Los Angeles (52-49) is seven back of division-leading Texas and four games back of the final wild-card spot. After announcing Ohtani would remain in L.A., the front office traded for White Sox pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in exchange for minor leaguers Ky Bush and Edgar Quero. 

Giolito is 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA and Lopez is 2-5 with a 4.29 ERA this season.

More is needed to make the Angels a serious playoff threat, but as the Mets and Padres have shown, making splashy moves isn't always a recipe for success.

Keeping Ohtani could be worse than simply losing him for nothing. By trading significant players from their farm system, the Angels will be in rebuild mode for years to come if their plan doesn't work and Ohtani leaves.

Even if L.A. makes the postseason, will that be enough to satisfy Ohtani, or is a deep run necessary? 

Per FiveThirtyEight, the Angels are expected to finish the season 86-76 and have a 39% chance of reaching the postseason. Their chance of winning the World Series sits at two percent.