How the Angels will move on from Shohei Ohtani - ESPN

Now the bleak reconstruction begins for the Los Angeles Angels, who tried just about everything they could to convince Shohei Ohtani to stay. They took him off the trade market in 2022 and again in 2023, when conventional wisdom suggested they should deal him to get proper value. They made aggressive trades from an already thin farm system last summer, to demonstrate to him that they were trying to win. Throughout the bidding process, the Angels thought they had at least a shot to re-sign, because they had deferred to him over and over.

Every major decision that the Angels made in the last couple of years was made with a view toward Ohtani's situation, in keeping open the possibility of retaining him. After all, Ohtani was their best hitter and their best pitcher, someone who accounted for nearly 20 percent of their homers last season, almost 15 percent of their runs scored, and more than a quarter of their stolen bases. Ohtani had an ERA of 3.14 last season; the Angels' ERA was 4.79 when someone else pitched.

And despite all their hopes, he's gone. Ohtani announced on Saturday that he will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, in the ripples of his departure, owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian must try to invent a way to win in an AL West that includes the defending champion Texas Rangers; the Houston Astros, who've merely won the division in the last six full seasons; and the Seattle Mariners, who have cut payroll this winter but still possess high-end talent.

They were a 73-win team with Ohtani last season, and for the sake of hope, for the sake of selling tickets, they have to imagine another path. And there's some relief in there for the front office, who now are able to turn their attention to