One of the more puzzling decisions for the Los Angeles Angels over the last couple seasons was why they didn't trade Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels knew they likely wouldn't be able to match the two-time AL MVP's price in free agency — what turned out to be a $700 million deal Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers — so why didn't they trade him in order to get something in return, rather than just letting him walk in free agency?
For Angels owner Arte Moreno, not trading Ohtani was about maximizing the benefits of Ohtani playing for the team as long as he could.
“From a fan perspective, they pay for tickets and watch the games and listen to the games, this is a special guy,” Moreno said. “I’d like to see him play. We’re in the entertainment business. We made a decision, a group decision, that the best thing was to keep him and make a run.”
Moreno's answer makes sense. Though trading Ohtani could have given the team better assets or a nice return, few trade packages could have brought fans to the stadium — at least in the short term — like Ohtani. Ultimately, drawing in these fans and earning ticket sales while they could is critical for a franchise like the Angels, who have not been successful in a long time.
Getting something in return for Ohtani could have been helpful for the Angels' team success, but likely not as exciting for fans as watching Ohtani in an Angels uniform while they still could.
While this still might not be a good enough reason for some who would have rather seen the Angels benefit in some fashion from Ohtani leaving, it still provides reasonable insight behind the Angels' decision making.
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