San Francisco Giants President admits keen interest in $600,000,000 superstar Shohei Ohtani before trade deadline 

San Francisco Giants President Farhan Zaidi has acknowledged the team's strong interest in landing two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani before this year’s trade deadline.

The Los Angeles Angels superstar was the talk of every trade rumor mill leading up to August 1. However, the Angels pivoted to being buyers instead, which changed the dynamics of this year’s trade market, not just for themselves but also for every other team monitoring Ohtani’s situation closely - the Giants being one of them.

Zaidi, who's known for his smart decision-making, talked about the Giants' Shohei Ohtani chase on a recent episode of the Giants Talk Podcast. He talked about the timing of the Angels' decision to keep Ohtani, and how it was expected. He said,

"It wasn't teams waiting until (deadline day) and hearing, 'Hey, we're going to hold onto him.' I think this is a sign of the health of the league, that there are a lot of teams in it and a team like that could reverse course."

“A player of that magnitude, I just always bet against something happening with them until it does. That was sort of our expectation and you sort of plan accordingly, but it was definitely an interesting storyline. We were very invested in it like a lot of teams were, and not surprised by how it wound up."

The next few weeks represent the Angels’ last opportunity to convince their greatest ever player that they are capable of competing for championships.

The Arte Moreno-owned team haven’t made the playoffs since 2014. With only 47 games remaining, they are seven games out of a Wild Card spot.

Ohtani is expected to take a team’s competitiveness and title ambitions into account before putting pen to paper on his next deal, which is expected to be in the region of a record-breaking $600 million.

Next few weeks vital for San Francisco Giants’ Shohei Ohtani dream

The San Francisco Giants were linked to the likes of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge last year, so a marquee addition seems long overdue. Their performances over the next couple of months could be a game-changer in their Shohei Ohtani quest.

The Giants find themselves only three games behind in the NL Wild Card race. Should they make the playoffs and make an impression, watch out for them in the offseason. Expect the Giants to be one of the leading outfits pursuing Ohtani’s signature, should he not extend his stay with the Angels.