Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani will be a free agent after the upcoming season if the American League West team doesn't extend him, and many around the league expect that to be the result.

"One rival estimated the Angels have a '5 percent chance' to lock up Ohtani long-term, and another called a deal before free agency flat out 'impossible,'" Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported.

Ohtani's future received even more attention in January when the Moreno family, which owns the Angels, announced it was no longer exploring the option to sell the team.

Andy Martino of SNY reported at the time that Arte Moreno remaining in his position led people around baseball to think it is "far less likely" the 2021 American League MVP will remain with the Angels.

Los Angeles has not exactly been a model of winning since the Moreno family purchased the team in 2003, which just so happened to be the year after it won the World Series. It has been to the playoffs just once since 2009 and finished with a losing record in each of the last seven seasons despite having Ohtani since 2018 and Mike Trout since 2011.

"Moreno's poor stewardship is so well established that there appears little reason why Ohtani would choose to remain," Martino wrote.

Heyman listed the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres as potential suitors for the two-way star, who is both one of the best pitchers and best hitters in the league.

High-profile teams like that all going for the same prized player will create a bidding war that will likely lead to the biggest contract the league has ever seen, and the Angels could get out ahead of things and trade Ohtani this season if they fall out of contention. He would surely draw quite the return package if so many teams are interested.

Yet Moreno isn't quite ready to give him up.

"I'd like to keep Ohtani," he told Heyman. "He's one of a kind. He's a great person. He's obviously one of the most popular baseball players in the world, and he's an international star. He's a great teammate. He works hard. He's a funny guy, and he has a really good rapport with fans."

He is also a star on the field and can anchor the rotation and lineup for whichever team he plays for in 2024.

It seems like many believe that team won't be the Angels.