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The Los Angeles Angels are on the verge of a late-season collapse. Shohei Ohtani has been in fine form but that has not been enough for the Halos to climb back up the American League ladder.
The Los Angeles Angels are currently 61-64 and sit in fourth place in the American League West. They trail the first-place Texas Rangers by 12 games and the Houston Astros by 9.5 games.
It has been a grueling and tiresome season for the Angels and Phil Nevin. The team has lost six of its past nine games and gave up 18 runs against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Despite strong performances from Shohei Ohtani, the offense has failed to get going.
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Los Angeles Angels fans were furious after the latest setback that saw the team drop to eight games out of the wild card with just 37 games remaining.
Fans pleaded for Shohei Ohtani to be set free from a franchise that seems to be set in a losing pattern. He is estimated to earn anywhere between $500-600 million in his next contract.
The Los Angeles Angels are 4-6 in their last 10 games. The team managed just four runs against the Tampa Bay Rays and were never in the game after giving up six runs in the first five innings.
Los Angeles Angels' two-way star Shohei Ohtani leads the league in home runs and OPS
Ohtani has been one of the few bright spots in an offense that has struggled this season.
Ohtani is slashing .306/.407/.664 on the year and has already amassed 43 home runs and 89 RBIs. He currently leads the MLB in home runs (43) and OPS (.1.071).
On the defensive front, the Japanese superstar also ranks first in the league in batting average against and 11th in strikeouts.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Ohtani in the offseason. If he does decide to move on from the Angels, there will be several teams interested. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have been touted as possible landing spots.
