Dodgers News: Padres Also Made a Push to Land Shohei Ohtani
The trade deadline this season was full of superstar talent involved in rumors. And almost every name had the Dodgers linked to them in some way. And that makes sense, given that they are almost always checking in on talent made available around the league.
They were in on Juan Soto before he inevitably went to the Padres. The asking price for Soto was far too steep for the Dodgers, and obviously they didn’t feel like there was a need to empty the fam for him. But they were also in on Shohei Ohtani before the Angels ultimately opted to keep him in playoff purgatory.
But this revelation from Padres General Manager AJ Preller has to have Dodgers fans happy that the Angels pulled the plug on any deal. According to Preller, San Diego was very in on both Soto and Ohtani at the deadline, going with Soto when the Angels back out of trading the superstar two-way player.
“If they did go down that path, we were going to be in the game. And maybe with some different players too that didn’t end up in the deal. So there were some guys that both teams had interest… from the Nats early on, you could tell they were going to listen they were going to pursue this deal. With the Angels it was kind of ‘hey let’s consider it’ and ultimately, not really sure if they were going to put him on the market and making a deal.”
Preller very much makes it sound like the Padres could have potentially landed both, noting that each team asked for different prospects to an extent. Would that have been enough to catch the Dodgers in the NL West? Who knows, but it’s a scary thought.
Ohtani has one more year of team control before he can hit free agency ahead of the 2024 season. And the Dodgers could be on his list of teams to play for once that happens. He has said he wants to win, and what better place to do that than in actual Los Angeles?
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