Sources: Angels pull star Ohtani off trade market
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Widespread speculation around Shohei Ohtani potentially being moved before the trade deadline can seemingly be put to rest, as the Los Angeles Angels have pulled the two-way superstar off the market, sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney, confirming a Sports Illustrated report.
Teams have been informed the Angels won’t trade Ohtani before Tuesday’s deadline, sources told Olney on Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, the Angels signaled they were buyers, acquiring right-hander Lucas Giolito and right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox for catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush, two top prospects.
The Angels are four games back of the final wild-card spot in the American League going into Thursday’s doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, with Ohtani scheduled to start the opener.
The thought of Ohtani being traded with two months remaining before his highly anticipated run at free agency had long been seen as a longshot from front office executives throughout the industry, but people familiar with the Angels’ thinking had begun to suggest in recent days that the right package might sway owner Arte Moreno to make a move.
One source in particular said the Angels had considered letting the week play out, with back-to-back road series against the Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, before making a final decision.
But that decision appears to have been reached a little early, partly because the Angels have won six of their past seven games and partly, a separate source said, because the team has been underwhelmed by the players offered in return.
Ohtani is a transcendent two-way star who is expected to finish within the top two in AL MVP voting for a third straight year and then command a free agent contract worth at least $500 million.
Moreno, who has declined to both trade Ohtani and sell the franchise over the past year, is expected to make a run at re-signing him in the offseason. Sources have said Ohtani would prefer to stay with the Angels for the stretch run and that Moreno would have no shot to bring him back as a free agent if he were to trade Ohtani to another team.
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Kristen Shilton
The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.
Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.
The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.
Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.
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Ryan S. Clark
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.
Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.
He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.
Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.
It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.
That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.
But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
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