Mark Madden Hot Take: Angels have little choice but to trade Shohei Ohtani

MLB’s trade deadline is Aug. 1. The Los Angeles Angels are likely to deal Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani is the best player in baseball. Some think he’s the best ever. He hits, pitches, has charisma — he’s the total package.

But the Angels are six games out of a wild-card spot after losing six straight and 10 of their last 11.

Ohtani will be a free agent at season’s end. It seems like the Angels should get something for him, not just let him walk for free. But the Angels can’t possibly get enough in such a swap.

Ohtani reportedly wants out. The Angels haven’t made the playoffs during his six years.

But how can you trade Ohtani? The Angels fan base should revolt.

It’s not as bad as the Boston Red Sox trading Babe Ruth. Ruth never could have been a free agent.

But trading the best player in baseball, and maybe ever, just shouldn’t happen. Let alone with Ohtani in his prime.

The NFL’s franchise tag is grotesquely unfair. It keeps free agency from truly being free. Players out of contract can be bound to a team against their will.

But it’s almost a shame the franchise tag doesn’t exist in MLB.

If it did, teams could hold onto players who are the identity of their team — providing teams paid the inflated price tag attached.

Trading Ohtani is plain stupid. But the Angels have to do it.

That’s life in today’s MLB. If there had been free agency in the ’60s, Roberto Clemente’s statue wouldn’t reside outside PNC Park.

I’m hoping Ohtani goes to the New York Yankees. Perhaps he finally could realize his true potential with Sean Casey as his hitting coach.