Shohei Ohtani Said He Was Most Excited To Play With Jose Ramirez At The All-Star Game And I'm Taking That As He Wants To Be Traded To Cleveland
Who is that player who you are excited to meet here and you are looking forward to talking to?
Jose Ramirez...he is one of Shohei's favorite guys. Obviously they are on opposite teams but when they play each other they communicate and have a good conversation. He's a really funny guy. A really nice guy.
I don't care what you say, I'm taking this as Shohei dropping a not-so-subtle hint of where he wants to be traded. And why not, it makes way too much sense. He loves Jose Ramirez (who doesn't), the Angels are pissing away his first ballot Hall of Fame career, and the Guardians have less power than California in one of those preposterous rolling blackouts.
1+1+1= 3
Sure, the Guardians have zero shot at signing him long term unless someone lends the Dolans a quick Billy or they find one in the cushions of their Costco couch. But why not take a huge swing and try to make a run at the whole thing this year?
The Guardians are loaded with middle infield prospects and young pitching. There is definitely a package they could put together that would tickle the Angels' fancy.
And when I said the Guardians are desperate for a power bat I mean "last call drunk at the bar in month eight of a dry spell" desperate. Adding Ohtani to one of the worst power hitting lineups in MLB history would showcase him that much more. Think of how tall Cameron Brink looked next to Kevin Hart. That's Shohei in the Guardians lineup.
I mean look at these numbers. The Guardians are 18 behind the Royals for the least amount of home runs in MLB. They are on pace for a measly 121 bombs, which would be the third lowest total in baseball since 2015 (not including the Covid year). There has been plenty of home run swings from the Guardians lineup just not much home run contact.
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And I know you're probably sitting there thinking this is all a little much. All Shohei said was he likes Jose and thinks he's funny. But I know flirting when I see it and it always starts one of two ways: Thinking the other person is hot or thinking the other person is funny.
And sure the Guardians are in first place in a terrible division but no one would ever accuse them of being hot. But funny? Oh we can do funny.
Jose can do funny.
Tito can do funny.
Josh Naylor can do funny.
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The Dolans need to treat this move like I do my bank account every weekend. Do what feels good now and worry about the financial ramifications later. Shohei is begging you so make it happen.