Cardinals: One move they don’t want to see each NL contender make

Los Angeles Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani

This is cheating a little bit, as the Angels just came out and said they are not trading Shohei Ohtani this offseason. But barring a huge offseason or big turn around in early 2023, Ohtani will be a hot trade candidate by July. It feels like its only a matter of time before Ohtani is a Dodger.

The Dodgers have a ton of free agents this winter: Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Anderson, Joey Gallo, Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Heaney, and others are names that may not be in Dodger blue next year. Its inevitable that the Dodgers go out and make a big signing or two, along with bringing back some of these names. It’s just what the Dodgers due.

The scariest proposition for the Cardinals and the rest of baseball is if they pool their assets together and grab Ohtani from the Angels. Ohtani would give the Dodgers yet another elite starter and middle of the order bat, all in the form of one player. Ohtani would become an even bigger star in today’s game and make the Dodgers the clear favorites in all of baseball.

The Dodgers are always among the favorites in baseball, but something about adding Ohtani to guys stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Julio Urias, and Walker Buehler would make them a whole different animal. They’d have far and away the best player in baseball on their roster, all anyone could do would be cross their fingers that the Dodgers underachieve somehow.