General Manager Perry Minasian told reporters the news on Monday.

The Los Angeles Angels are looking to keep Shohei Ohtani with the team through the offseason according to General Manager Perry Minasian.

Last month, Ohtani agreed to a one-year, $30m deal with the Angels for the 2023 season, his last year before entering free agency.

During the general manager meetings, Minasian said: “Because he's obviously such a good player, we're not moving him. Ohtani is not getting moved.

“He'll be here to start the season. I know there's been rumors and all types of things, but he will be part of the club.

“We love the player and I think the goal is for him to be here for a long time.”

Owner of the team, Arte Moreno announced at the end of the season that he has hired a firm to start exploring the sale of the team.

The sale of the team isn’t expected to affect Ohtani’s deal but it’s essentially up to the owners not the general manager.

Minasian continued: “At the end of the day it's ownership's call but I make the recommendations and I think everybody's on the same page. Easy player not to move.”

Keep in mind the Angels are coming off their seventh-consecutive losing season and have missed the playoffs for the last eight years. Ohtani has revealed his frustrations with losing recently.

After the season, Ohtani stated in Japanese: “I have to say that August and September in particular felt longer to me than last year.

“We were not able to play as many good games as we would like -- including 14 consecutive losses. So I have a rather negative impression of this season.”