The Los Angeles Angels knew what they had in Shohei Ohtani, but it still wasn’t enough for them to keep him paired with Mike Trout. The Los Angeles Dodgers immediately won Ohtani a World Series, as the two-way superstar was a major part of their successful season, even if he was only contributing as a batter due to injury. However, in an alternative universe, Ohtani would have been with the San Diego Padres instead.
How Close Was Shohei Ohtani to Playing for the San Diego Padres?
A.J. Preller has worked with three other teams, including the Dodgers, but he’s been with the San Diego Padres since 2014. Preller is no stranger to making big moves, but trading for Ohtani would’ve been the biggest of his career. Sadly, for both Preller and the Padres, a move never happened as Ohtani signed his 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
“It was a super unique time,” Preller said. “I think, again, it’s a testament to our organization that we at least had the ability to have those conversations. There was some talk about how we had traded some prospects the [previous] two years, and we knew our system was super strong.”
It was a lot of fun to be able to have those conversations about which player you would rather have, you know, three years of [Juan] Soto, two years of Ohtani, and then also the guys in our system that we knew were going to go on to be great players.”
The Soto experience didn’t last long, as he lasted just a season and a half in San Diego. Soto has finally found his home in New York as a Met after spending the 2024 season with the New York Yankees. While the Padres couldn’t secure Soto or Ohtani for the long haul, they remain just 5.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.
Coincidentally, Ohtani recently made his return to the mound after his shoulder injury against the Padres, a series that got heated as the two sides compete for the division.
Shohei Ohtani plays peacemaker at the end of another wild game between the Padres and Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/V03xUugs8z
— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2025
In terms of a potential Ohtani trade, James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, Robert Hassell III, and Jackson Merrill were all on the table. It would have taken a long time to get Ohtani in return, something Preller seriously considered. He hesitated to trade Wood and Merrill, even though Wood was part of the Soto deal in August 2022. He’s hitting .277 and by far leads the Washington Nationals with 22 home runs and 63 RBIs.
Merrill is holding his own, with a .301 average through 186 at-bats. That’s the sixth most on the team as his two triples are tied for second. Wood and Merrill are 22 years old, and while neither was traded for Ohtani, they’ve begun to develop into some of the fastest rising stars in the league.