A-Rod wanting the Los Angeles Angels to trade Shohei Ohtani is a totally fair take. A-Rod suggesting the Angels can trade Ohtani for draft picks is a terrible take because it’s literally against MLB rules.
Alex Rodriguez recently joined the podcast of former Seattle Mariners All-Star Bret Boone and during the interview, they discussed the possibility of Ohtani getting dealt at the deadline.
“I just don’t even know what the trade value is, and I don’t think anybody does,” Boone said. A-Rod, however, thinks he has the answer. Draft picks.
“I think here’s the thought that I would think about, if I was the Angels, I would want to get a bunch of draft picks, I want to load up my farm system,” Rodriguez said. “If I’m the Angels, I’m saying, okay, you’re gonna take Ohtani, but I also want to give you some of my bad contract. So, if I can unload a few, or one big one, and take that off the books, plus refurnish my minor league system, get some draft picks and get maybe a piece or two? Now you got something.”
Did A-Rod happen to notice no other trades in Major League Baseball include draft picks? Mookie Betts, Juan Soto, Paul Goldschmidt are all superstars who were recently traded, none of them garnered a return of draft picks. Maybe A-Rod thought it was some revolutionary idea. Ohtani is a unicorn player who deserves a unicorn-like return if the Angels make the decision to trade him before next week’s deadline. And draft picks would certainly be a unicorn-like return considering it can’t happen. While it occurs frequently in the NBA and NFL, MLB does not allow teams to trade draft picks.
Colin Cowherd made the same mistake last week, stating the Angels should move Ohtani for three No. 1 picks, before being informed something most baseball fans already knew, you can’t trade draft picks. Awful Announcing’s video of Cowherd’s blunder has amassed nearly five million views on Twitter, apparently, A-Rod wasn’t one of them.
At least in the case of Cowhed, he’s a self-described “baseball casual.” A-Rod is a three-time MVP who attempted to buy the New York Mets and gets paid well to be an MLB analyst on both Fox Sports and ESPN!
A radio host and “baseball casual” who only talks about the sport when forced to not being aware draft picks can’t be traded, okay, I guess. A former MLB MVP not knowing draft picks can’t be traded, fine. But a person who wanted to run a franchise and now serves as an analyst on two of MLB’s biggest broadcast media partners not knowing the seemingly basic rule when attempting to break down a potential trade for the league’s biggest star? That’s a bad look.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com