Shohei Ohtani has spent his entire MLB career playing in Los Angeles, first with the Angels before, of course, taking his talents to the Dodgers three years ago.

However, there was a real chance that wouldn’t have been the case at the 2023 trade deadline, when chatter emerged that Ohtani could be dealt. Every contending team wanted the opportunity to acquire the superstar, and according to insider Ken Rosenthal, it was actually the Tampa Bay Rays who came closest to pulling it off—with fellow star Junior Caminero having reportedly been involved in the discussions.

Rosenthal wrote in a recent article for The Athletic:

“Imagine, if in 2023, Shohei Ohtani had unleashed his two-way prowess for the Tampa Bay Rays, if only for a few months. Imagine if he had been traded for Junior Caminero, who would now be starring at third base for the Los Angeles Angels instead of the Rays.

A blockbuster involving those players, carrying mammoth implications for both clubs, was seriously discussed before the 2023 trade deadline, according to people briefed on the conversations. It didn’t happen, of course. For the second straight year, Angels owner Arte Moreno decided against trading Ohtani, only to lose him to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent four months later,”

The 31-year-old Ohtani has since gone on to post back-to-back 50-plus home run and 100-plus RBI seasons as a Dodger, while also winning the World Series in both years.

Looking back on it now, the Angels absolutely have to regret not making the move—and many felt that way at the time as well. Losing a generational talent like Ohtani for nothing is a disaster, and the fact that one of the game’s best young players in Caminero was on the table adds even more salt to the wound.

On the flip side, the Rays are probably just fine with getting to keep their now-22-year-old slugger, who hit 45 home runs last season and has been a catalyst in their 33-15 start to the 2026 campaign.

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