MLB analyst believes LA Angels mishandled the trade deadline: "It's starting to feel like the Angels choosing to be buyers may have been a mistake"

The LA Angels shocked the baseball world when they decided to hold onto superstar Shohei Ohtani past the trade deadline. Instead of finding a buyer for Ohtani, they became buyers themselves.

They landed Dominic Leone from the New York Mets. They also signed C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez to better their roster in hopes of getting into the postseason.

While that is quite the return, it will not matter much if it is not enough to keep Ohtani from leaving in the offseason. They lost their last three games but were playing the red-hot Atlanta Braves.

"It's still early on, but it's starting to feel like the Angels choosing to be buyers may have been a mistake. I hope I'm wrong, because like everybody else, I want to see Shohei and Trout in October. Not a great start!" said Jared Carrabis.

All eyes will be on the LA Angels on Thursday when they take on the Seattle Mariners in a four-game series. The two teams are tied in the American League West and could build momentum with a few wins.

Shohei Ohtani will be on the bump to start the series on Thursday against the Mariners. Seattle will start rookie Bryan Woo, who has had a few shaky starts this season with his 1-3 record.

The LA Angels have all their marbles in this season's basket

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It is no secret that the LA Angels are doing all they can to retain Ohtani after the season is over. Aside from being an exceptional two-way player, he is in the middle of an MVP-caliber season.

In 106 games, he is hitting .304/.406/.676 with 39 home runs and 13 stolen bases. Ohtani leads the league in home runs, OPS, and slugging percentage.

There is something about athletes going nuclear during a contract year. Aaron Judge put on a hitting clinic last season during his contract year, breaking the American League home run record.

Ohtani will have to keep up this type of performance, especially with Mike Trout on the IL. He suffered a hamate bone fracture on July 3 that required surgery. Early predictors estimate a late August return.

If that is the case, this team will have to dig deep. They have a tough road ahead of them with the opponents they play this month. After the series with Seattle, the Angels will take on the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and then Tampa Bay Rays.