The San Diego Padres were reportedly willing to include the highly touted prospect Jackson Merrill in a trade for Shohei Ohtani back in 2022, a move that would have offered the Los Angeles Angels a future face of the franchise.

Before Shohei Ohtani became an international superstar who looked like a steal on a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, their cross-county rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, had a major decision to make regarding the two-way MVP.

The San Diego Padres wanted Shohei Ohtani. At the same time in 2022 when they ended up trading for Juan Soto, they also considered Ohtani, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. At the time, Angels owner Arte Moreno pushed back against the idea.