Commentary | Ohtani to the Rays? In 2023, it was possible

Imagine if, in 2023, Shohei Ohtani had unleashed his two-way prowess for the Tampa Bay Rays, if only for a few months. Imagine if he had been traded for Junior Caminero, who would now be starring at third base for the Los Angeles Angels instead of the Rays.

A trade involving those players, carrying mammoth implications for both clubs, was seriously discussed before the 2023 trade deadline, according to people briefed on the conversations.

It didn’t happen, of course. For the second consecutive year, Angels owner Arte Moreno decided against trading Ohtani, only to lose him to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent four months later.

As another deadline approaches, the proposed Ohtani-to-Tampa Bay trade stands as an example -- at least for the Rays -- of how sometimes the best deals are the ones teams do not make.

The Angels, on the other hand, soon will face renewed questions about whether to embark upon a sell-off as they sit on the worst record in the American League with a general manager, Perry Minasian, in the final year of his contract.

Caminero, then a 19-year-old at Double-A, would have been one of two top prospects heading to the Angels for Ohtani. The other would have been shortstop Carson Williams, who was then a 20-year-old at High-A. The Angels would have wanted additional talent, even though Ohtani was a rental. The Rays were willing to include lesser pieces to close the deal, MLB sources said.

For the Angels, Moreno’s refusal to bring the trade to fruition represents yet another what-if from Ohtani’s time in Anaheim.

Before the 2022 deadline, when Ohtani was under club control for two pennant races, the Angels discussed an Ohtani trade with the San Diego Padres that would have brought them a comparable or better package than the one the Padres ultimately sent the Washington Nationals for Juan Soto, who was under control for three races.

The Nationals’ six-player haul for Soto included outfielder James Wood, shortstop C.J. Abrams and left-hander MacKenzie Gore. As has been reported, center fielder Jackson Merrill was also part of the discussions for Ohtani, according to sources briefed on the talks. It was not out of the question that the Padres would have included him if Moreno was willing to proceed.

But Moreno balked then, and balked again the next year. The Angels finished both seasons 73-89. If they had kept Ohtani, it would have made their failure to trade him forgivable. But their only compensation for losing the best player in the world as a free agent was the 74th pick in the 2024 draft, which they used on right-hander Ryan Johnson.

Making matters worse, the Angels compounded their problems when they turned into buyers instead of landing Caminero, Williams and potentially more from the Rays. They have yet to be haunted by any of the prospects they traded. But several have appeared in the majors, and could have been used for other moves.

Entering July 26 of Ohtani’s final season in Anaheim, the Angels were 52-49, 3 1/2 games out in the wild-card race, with playoff odds of 16.7%. That day, they acquired pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López from the Chicago White Sox. They added first baseman C.J. Cron, outfielder Randal Grichuk and reliever Dominic Leone before the Aug. 1 deadline as well.

Their plan flopped spectacularly.

The Angels lost 19 of their first 26 games in August. At the end of the month, Moreno authorized a huge waiver dump that cost the team five players, including Giolito, López and Leone. But the shocking purge worked as intended, getting the Angels under the luxury-tax threshold.

The Rays, who had the game’s third-lowest payroll in 2023, would have absorbed about $10 million in salary if they had acquired Ohtani. It did not stop them from pursuing a deal. Club officials envisioned a trade for Ohtani as transformative, elevating their team to a legitimate World Series contender, electrifying their dormant market.

By the deadline, the Rays had cooled after starting the season 13-0 and 27-6. But even after losing starting pitchers Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen to season-ending injuries, they were one of the top teams in the American League.

Ohtani would have joined a rotation that included a healthy Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan coming off his second consecutive All-Star appearance and Zach Eflin heading to a sixth-place finish in AL Cy Young Award voting. Ohtani would also have added to the Rays’ offense, which even without him finished fourth in the majors in runs.

Once the trade failed to materialize, the Rays could not come close to adding the same type of impact. Their most notable move was their acquisition of right-hander Aaron Civale from the Cleveland Guardians for a first-base prospect, Kyle Manzardo. Civale, who made 10 starts for the Rays and posted a 5.36 earned run average, never was going to be confused with Ohtani.

Little did the Rays know at the time, but a trade for Ohtani would have left them devastated.

McClanahan injured an elbow on Aug. 2 that required Tommy John surgery. Shortstop Wander Franco went on the restricted list on Aug. 14 after MLB began investigating him for an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

And, as it turned out, the addition of Ohtani might not have achieved the desired result.

Ohtani tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Aug. 23, ending his season as a pitcher. He continued as a hitter through Sept. 3, when he strained an oblique muscle. And on Sept. 23, he underwent his second major elbow reconstruction.

The Rays finished with 99 wins, earning the top AL wild card. They were swept in the wild-card round by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers. It was a crushing disappointment. But at least they kept Caminero and Williams.

Caminero established himself last season as perhaps the game’s preeminent young slugger, hitting 45 home runs. Williams has yet to prove he can hit in the majors and justify his selection as the 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft. Still, his strong defense at a premium position gives him a high floor, and his power will enable him to reach his ceiling if he can rectify his swing-and-miss issues.

“What might have been” tales from past deadlines are common in baseball. Rarely, though, are proposed trades as impactful as the ones the Angels could have made for Ohtani, first with San Diego, then with Tampa Bay. Caminero alone would have filled a third-base void created by the disastrous signing of Anthony Rendon, giving the Angels a building block for the future.

Alas, it was the same old story.

Moreno said no.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright 2026 The New York Times Company

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 5:25 PM.