Milwaukee Brewers Named as 1 Darkhorse Team to Trade for Los Angeles Angels Superstar Shohei Ohtani

Let’s be real: there is a slim-to-none chance that the Milwaukee Brewers will make a trade for Los Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. That being said, Ohtani is such a generational talent that any team that is will to part with the right number/quality of prospects could pry him away from the Angels. Indeed, the Angels just need to name their asking price and wait for teams to meet it.

The Brewers, meanwhile, have a talented farm system and are buyers at the trade deadline. Among their needs are starting pitching and DH. Ohtani happens to be both.

The Milwaukee Brewers Would Have to Give Up a Haul to Trade for Shohei Ohtani

As farfetched as a Brewers trade for Ohtani sounds, there are professional baseball writers who think that it is a possibility. In a recent article on Bleacher Report, Zachary D. Rhymer named eight dark horse teams that could end up on the other end of a trade with the Angels. The Milwaukee Brewers were one of those teams:

After discussing the team in second place in the National League Central, it seems only right to ponder whether the one in first place is a fit for Ohtani.

That’s the Brewers, who are quietly one of the warmest clubs in MLB by way of an 18-9 stretch since June 16. And with Willy Adames and Corbin Burnes finally hot, Brandon Woodruff looking at an August return from a shoulder strain, the time is right for the Brew Crew to press their advantage.

If they do push for Ohtani, what would separate them from others is that they need his bat more than his arm. At 4.16 runs per game, Milwaukee is third-to-last in the NL in scoring.

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Proposed Trade: Brewers get DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani, Angels get OF Sal Frelick, C Jeferson Quero and RHP Jacob Misiorowski

You’ll notice Jackson Chourio’s name isn’t here. That’s because it’s hard to imagine the Brewers parting with the No. 5 prospect in baseball for any rental, Ohtani included.

Instead, this offer would see the Angels get the No. 31 (Frelick), No. 66 (Quero) and No. 69 (Misiorowski) prospects in the game. An easier pill for the Brewers to swallow, perhaps…but maybe one they’d still prefer not to, lest they blow up their future beyond 2023.

The Cincinnati Reds were also named as a dark horse candidate, hence Rhymer’s reference to “the team in second place in the NL Central.” And he is right that Milwaukee needs a bat more than they do a pitcher.

The proposed trade is an interesting one. On the one hand, Sal Frelick is struggling in Triple-A after being, perhaps, the most hyped prospect during Spring Training. The Brewers have a very crowded outfield, both on the Major League level and down on the farm. While trading Frelick may not be ideal, it is better than trading Jackson Chourio.

The other two prospects, Quero and Misiorowski, would certainly be blows to the farm system as they both have bright futures in the Majors. However, this is Ohtani. William Contreras is under club control for several more years and quality relief pitchers can be found anywhere. An Ohtani comes around once every 100 years.

If, and this is a HUGE IF, the Angeles selected this package of prospects out of all other packages, Milwaukee would be getting a steal, even if for a rental.

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