The San Diego Padres wanted Shohei Ohtani.
At the same time in 2022 when they ended up trading for Juan Soto, they also considered Ohtani, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
At the time, Angels owner Arte Moreno pushed back against the idea. The Padres were all in, though, Rosenthal writes.
“For Ohtani, Padres general manager A.J. Preller might have parted with a comparable or even better package (than Soto)… (Jackson) Merrill was part of the trade discussions, according to sources briefed on the talks. It’s not out of the question the Padres would have included him if Moreno was willing to go forward.”
Merrill, a budding superstar, would’ve gone to the Angels in addition to the giant package Soto had instead sent to the Nationals.
Among that deal that went to Washington were lefty starter MacKenzie Gore, shortstop CJ Abrams and outfielder James Wood.
That would’ve been a chance for the Angels to finally be competitive once again.
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The Padres may have achieved more with Ohtani, or it still could’ve fallen short of keeping up with the NL West’s perennial powerhouse in L.A.
Nothing about this deal would’ve stopped the Dodgers from eventually signing Ohtani in free agency, but maybe a positive stint with the Padres would’ve changed the two-way superstar’s thinking.
It’s all hypothetical at this point, but it’s fun to think about.
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