MLB's biggest target won't be dealt at the trade deadline

According to reports, the biggest trade deadline target in baseball history is officially off the market.

According to Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels will not be moved prior to the Aug. 1 deadline, and the team will now be buyers instead of sellers as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

They're tied with the Detroit Tigers for the longest active postseason drought.

The clear front-runner for the American League MVP has been the center of trade rumors for weeks, especially after the Angels dropped nine of their last 10 games heading into the All-Star break and lost both Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon to injury for the foreseeable future.

However, at the same time, most of the baseball world was believing the two-way star was as good as gone, Ohtani and his teammates had other ideas on the field. They've since won seven of nine, have improved to three games over .500, and are just four games behind the Blue Jays in the wild-card race.

Trout is expected to return to action in the next couple of weeks, while Mickey Moniak has more than made up for both Trout and Rendon recently.

The fourth-year player had played in only 66 games over three seasons prior to 2023, but is hitting .333 with 11 home runs in 48 games since being called up from the minors in May. He's been even better in July, raking at a .358 clip and is currently riding a 15-game hitting streak, good for the longest active streak in baseball.

The Ohtani news comes at an interesting time, with the Angels slated to play a three-game series at Toronto this weekend, followed by three more in Atlanta, the team with the best record in baseball.

After a seven-game homestand against the Mariners and Giants, they then have to go back on the road to play the Astros and Rangers, the two teams currently ahead of them in the AL West standings.

Going into Thursday's games, Ohtani leads MLB in home runs with 36, along with 77 RBI, 12 steals and an 8-5 record on the mound.