Asking price for Shohei Ohtani would be too rich for Reds' blood

Okay, let's just get this out of the way first. The chances of the Cincinnati Reds actually making a play for Shohei Ohtani before the August 1st trade deadline is probably about 0.001-percent.

But, if there's one team in Major League Baseball who has the assets to make a deal for the Los Angeles Angels superstar, it's the Reds.

As the trade deadline approaches, the Reds appear to be buyers. One area of concern has been the team's starting pitching. However, the bats have quiet all of the sudden as well. Well, there's an easy way to solve both of those issues, and that's by swinging a trade for Ohtani.

Asking price for Shohei Ohtani would be too rich for Reds' blood.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi said recently that the Los Angeles Angels are at least considering the idea of trading Shohei Ohtani. It's not a bad idea seeing as how Ohtani will be a free agent after the season, the Halos are below .500, and will be without former MVP Mike Trout for at least month.

The Angels sit in an unusual and uncomfortable position. Would they really trade the best player in baseball? Well, there's certainly merit to the idea if instead Ohtani decides to sign elsewhere during the offseason. If that happens, the Angels will have lost Ohtani and received little more than a compensatory draft pick in return.

But what would it cost an inquiring team in order to trade for Shohei Ohtani? Much more than the Cincinnati Reds are willing to pay, that's for sure. According to Morosi, the conversation begins with multiple Top 100 prospects.

Last season, the San Diego Padres landed Washington Nationals slugger Juan Soto in a trade deadline deal that sent James Wood and Robert Hassell III, both Top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline, in addition to Mackenzie Gore and CJ Abrams. Both Gore and Abrams were top young talents in the Padres organization as well.

While Soto had an extra year of team-control and the trade included slugging first baseman Josh Bell as well, you have assume that's somewhere in the ballpark of the type of return that the Los Angeles Angels would expect.

So, if you're the Cincinnati Reds, would you be willing to part with say Noelvi Marte, Cam Collier, Connor Phillips, and Leonardo Balcazar? I didn't think so.

Trading for Shohei Ohtani is something that teams with unlimited resources and a deep farm system would look to do. While Angels owner Arte Moreno has no intention of pulling off such a deal, the Los Angeles Dodgers make the most sense.

For those Reds fans who think the front office should make a trade for Shohei Ohtani, it's time to go back to bed, because you're dreaming.