Shohei Ohtani for Junior Caminero: The failed trade that could've saved the Angels

The Los Angeles Angels' biggest misstep in franchise history — their refusal to trade Ohtani — has been harped on ever since they ultimately lost him for nothing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency after the 2023 season. And now, one more what-if from that time has come to light. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday morning that the Rays offered the Halos a package centered around two of their top five prospects at the time according to MLB Pipeline: Junior Caminero, then a 19-year-old in Double-A and now one of the most exciting young sluggers in baseball, and Carson Williams, then a 20-year-old in High A. Angels front office personnel not able to speak publicly confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that they were in talks with the Rays and Caminero's name was floated around. According to Rosenthal, the Angels would have wanted additional talent, which the Rays were reportedly willing to offer. Tampa Bay, however, was just one of the teams they had been involved with. According to the staffer, front office brass were all in a room taking calls for Ohtani when they looked over to the TV and saw reports that owner Arte Moreno shut down the possibility of any trade involving the two-way phenom. If the trade with the Rays had gone through, it could have significantly altered the trajectories for both teams involved. The Angels would've gotten back two young core pieces to place alongside Zach Neto in the infield, and shipping off Ohtani would've likely turned the club into sellers at the 2023 trade deadline, meaning they wouldn't have made the ill-fated moves for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, CJ Cron, Randal Grichuk and Dominic Leone. The Rays, who had opened that season with 13 straight wins and had World Series aspirations, would've slotted Ohtani into a rotation that already included a healthy Tyler Glasnow, Shane Mclanahan at his peak and Zach Eflin. As Rosenthal reported though, that trade would've ended up disastrously for Tampa Bay. Mclanahan was lost for the remainder of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Aug. 2 and shortstop Wander Franco went on the restricted list two weeks later as part of an investigation into his inappropriate relationship with a minor. Ohtani himself — who likely would've been a half-season rental for the small market Rays — tore his right UCL on Aug. 23 and underwent the second major elbow procedure of his career a month later. The Rays weathered that storm, held onto their top prospects and now find themselves back at the top of the AL East three years later. Caminero has been a huge part of that with his 13 home runs and 27 RBIs on his .865 OPS through 210 plate appearances this season. The 22-year-old was one of the breakout stars for the Dominican Republic during the World Baseball Classic this spring, but also had a monster 2025 season that flew relatively under the radar to some more casual baseball fans. Going into that year, Caminero said that his goal was to hit 40 home runs. He hit that goal by early August — at Angel Stadium, ironically — and finished in the top five in the American League in both homers and RBIs during his first All-Star campaign. The Angels, meanwhile, have continued to flounder and own the worst record in the big leagues at 17-33.