Did Anthony Rendon ruin Angels' Shohei Ohtani chances in free agency? New details emerge amidst two-way phenom's sensational season

Nobody can doubt that Shohei Ohtani is having an incredible season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now the league leader in OPS and slugging percentage, the 30-year-old phenomenon appears on course to set career figures in both home runs and RBIs.

The successes that he has witnessed with his new team have been great for baseball. However, the success has also served to show his former team, the Los Angeles Angels, what might have been.

In a recent piece for Angels-based news site Halo Hangout, writer Eric Cole explored why the Angels allowed Ohtani to walk out in free agency last fall. Cole referenced a report used by Jon Heyman in his piece for the New York Post on July 18.

The report, which included testimony from several players, claimed that Ohtani would have remained with the Angels had they offered him $700 million with 97% deferred, as the Dodgers, Blue Jays, and San Francisco Giants had done.

However, there were certain existing constraints on the Angels that made that outcome difficult from a financial standpoint. In addition to the $35 million that the team pays Mike Trout every year, there is another contract swallowing up the cash.

Cole referenced infielder Anthony Rendon's seven-year, $245 million deal that he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in late 2019. Already being on the hook to pay Rendon $35 million, and Trout a similar amount, the money just did not exist to pay Shohei Ohtani to remain with the club.

"Anthony Rendon plays his 220th game for the Angels tonight. It's the 636th game that the Angels have played since signing Rendon to a 7-year, $245,000,000 deal in December 2019." - Codify

Although the Rendon deal might be a point of major regret for Angels owner Arte Moreno, Ohtani is long gone. The reigning AL MVP signed a ten-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December, but will have 97% of his salary deferred until after the ten-year period.

Angels were never going to match other offers for Shohei Ohtani

Although the appetite existed for Shohei Ohtani to remain with the Angels, prior financial commitments blocked them from putting up the cash that Shohei Ohtani wanted. As Angels pitcher Tyler Anderson told Jon Heyman:

“He obviously did so well [in Anaheim], and I feel like if he obviously wants to have a Hall of Fame career, if you stay with one team, that’s the way to do it."

However, some prior miscalculations from the Angels front office meant that ultimately, Ohtani chose greener pastures.