Everyone wants a piece of the Shohei Ohtani cake. MLB fans realized his potential as a unicorn when he debuted with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, but this year has taken things up a notch. With perfect timing, 2023 is the last season Ohtani is slated to play with the Halos before free agency claims him. Ever since the previous season ended, there is only a single question on everyone’s minds – where will he end up?

Many high-profile teams are waiting to stake a claim with lucrative contracts as soon as the season’s over. After all, the Japanese phenomenon has redefined the meaning of ‘taking by storm’ with his two-way baseball skills. The Angels seem determined to make him stay, although most think it will be unlikely. Even so, Ohtani’s megastar teammate Mike Trout has a pitch to keep him in red and white.

Mike Trout will leave no stone unturned to keep Shohei Ohtani on board

The Trout-Ohtani duo has significantly elevated the Halos’ name with their combined star power. The rest of the team has also stepped up this season; everyone seems determined to keep Ohtani in LA. The only thing the Angels are most focused on is the playoffs, which the team has not participated in since 2014. Trout’s pitch to make Ohtani stay also centers around this feat.

“We’ve got to win, bro, we’ve got to get to the playoffs. Obviously, the biggest thing to keeping him here is to get to the playoffs. We’ve been winning, we’ve been having some good stretches, we’ve got a great group, and he’s enjoying it,” the 11x All-Star told Foul Territory in a recent interview. Amid swirling rumors of enticing contract offers, Mike made a statement to fight tooth and nail for Sho-time’s presence.

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“I’m going to do everything I can to make him stay. People are throwing out these huge numbers, but I don’t think it’s about the money, man. I think if we can win, he’s making all this money off the field. I mean, the numbers that are getting thrown out that are crazy,” he continues. And indeed, recent estimates keep on rising with a constantly surprising performance from the two-way player. He also shared Ohtani’s perspective on both game and his skyrocketing contracts.

According to Trout, Ohtani is only in it for the game, contracts come second. “He just wants to win and have some fun. He wants to make a run. And I think if we can do that, I think that’d be the best pitch we can do.”

Ohtani’s astounding performance is not coincidental

Natural talent goes a long way in establishing a name, but Ohtani does his homework off the field too. “You know how hard it is…to prepare on the offensive side, he does it on both. And he’s the best at, I would say, both…he’s really smart,” Trout praised his teammate. “A lot of people don’t see that, figure that he just shows up and just hits 464 homers every night and throws 12 Ks. But he knows the game better than anybody…he’s all baseball. It’s pretty impressive,” he added.

They say opportunity favors those who are prepared. And Ohtani certainly falls into that category. Come 2023 off-season, he is almost guaranteed to break records one way or the other.

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