Los Angeles Angels Ohtani Shohei is impressive in his pitching performance this season as well.
Ohtani cannot be left out as an American League MVP candidate. He seems highly likely to recapture the MVP trophy, which he lost to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees last year, in two years. This is because Judge has been on the IL for the second time this season with a toe injury. Judge is said to be out of action for at least two weeks. It’s fair to say that he was virtually eliminated from the MVP race.
Ohtani’s rivals are roughly compressed with Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays, Marcus Simien of the Texas Rangers, Bo Bichet of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Jordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros.
As of the 10th (Korean time),메이저사이트 Ohtani, the ‘batter’, has a batting average of 0.282 (69 hits in 245 bats), 17 homers, 44 RBIs, 38 runs, an on-base percentage of 0.356, a slugging percentage of 0.563, and an OPS of 0.919. He is tied for second in the AL in home runs, tied for seventh in RBI, third in slugging percentage, and fourth in OPS.
‘Pitcher’ Ohtani threw 76 innings in 13 games, recording 5 wins and 2 losses, an ERA of 3.32, 102 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.04, and a batting average of 0.172. He ranks 15th in AL ERA, 2nd in strikeouts, 10th in WHIP, and 1st in batting average.
As a hitter, it is better than last year even if it is not as good as in 2021, and as a pitcher it is better than in 2021 even if it is not as good as last year. In summary, Ohtani’s performance combined with pitching this season is at the MVP level. As of this day, bWAR is 3.3 and fWAR is 3.1, both of which are second in the AL. In first place is Franco (bWAR 3.7, fWAR 3.1), with Ohtani quickly closing the gap.
However, it is different from 2021, when he was unanimously selected as the MVP, that his cartoon-like pitching performance was fed up with the BBWAA (All Baseball Reporters Association), which has the right to vote.
In the end, you have to have at least one or two major individual titles to steal the votes of the voting group. Currently, it seems possible to challenge for the title as a hitter in terms of home run and slugging percentage, and as a pitcher in strikeout and hit rate.
However, there is one very important variable. it’s a trade Even if it’s the same AL team, if you move to the NL team, MVP becomes virtually impossible. This is because if the league is changed, the full-time season record is cut in half into AL and NL respectively. The MVP is selected based on the results accumulated in the league.
In the end, even if the Angels retain Ohtani until the end of the season or trade him, the AL team should maintain his MVP potential. However, most of the teams mentioned in relation to the Ohtani trade belong to the NL, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, and Chicago Cubs. AL teams include the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox.
Reporter Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said on a podcast hosted by MLB Insider Ben Verlander on the 9th, “I don’t think there is a chance that the Angels will sign Ohtani. There is a 0% chance.” Then he mentioned the possibility of a trade.
ESPN presented the possibility of 30 teams advancing to the playoffs on the 10th, and the Angels are 19th with 15%. It is expected that it will be difficult to play fall baseball this year.
If the Angels decide that there is no playoff hope at the time of the All-Star break, it is obvious that they will trade Ohtani. If you keep him until the end of the season and lose him to another team in the free agency market, you will only get one draft pick for next year.
However, if you sell before the trade deadline (August 2), you can secure a number of promising stocks. Last year, when the Washington Nationals gave away Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego, they received three prospects and three key players in the major leagues. It was evaluated as the most expensive price in trade history.
Ohtani’s value is higher than Soto’s, but never lower. This means that the Angels, who have not been able to achieve results compared to the money spent, can secure a large amount of rebuilding resources by selling Ohtani.
It is highly unlikely that the Angels would ignore such common sense business and insist on Ohtani. Moreover, owner Art Moreno is the one who tried to sell the Angels club last year. Looking at the playoffs that have crossed the water, there is no justification or practical benefit to take Ohtani. In the end, trade is the answer, and the destination is the NL.
Never in MLB history has a player traded in the middle of the season been named the MVP of the year. There are examples of Cy Young. 1984 winner Rick Sutcliffe. He was sluggish with 4-5 in 15 games and a 5.15 ERA in 15 games for the Cleveland Indians that year, but after being traded to the Chicago Cubs in June, he played a big role in 20 games with 16-1 and an average ERA of 2.69, winning the NL Cy Young Award as a unanimous opinion. received. With the signing of Sutcliffe, the Cubs gained a lot of momentum in their NL East winning streak.
Mark McGwire in 1997 is an interesting example of an MVP. That year, he hit 34 homers with 81 RBIs for the Oakland Athletics and 24 homers with 42 RBIs for St. Louis. He posted 58 home runs, 123 RBIs, and a 1.039 OPS in both leagues. In particular, his 58 home runs were the most in a single season since Roger Maris (61) in 1961. But he only finished 16th in NL MVP voting.
Ohtani started against the Seattle Mariners on the 10th and struggled with 3 hits, 5 walks and 3 runs in 5 innings. Missing triples in cycling hits. It’s the fourth time Ohtani has had three hits on a start this year, and the third time he’s missed a cycling hit because he fell short of one. No pitcher in major league history has ever produced a cycling hit the same day he started. This alone makes Ohtani a candidate for MVP.
However, if he is traded to the NL this summer, he will be left out of both leagues like Maguire in 1997.