"Shohei Ohtani gone, Mike Trout injured" - Angels insiders link attendance drop to Zach Neto, Logan O'Hoppe being familiar only to diehard fans

The Los Angeles Angels had a tough season in both performance and attendance. They were one of the worst teams in baseball and didn't have a player fans could get behind.

Those who did attend, according to one Angels insider, deserve praise, but those who didn't have an understandable excuse.

"Diehard fans, we're excited by Logan O'Hoppe and Zach Neto and the young starting pitching that's coming up this way. But the fact is, not everybody is that in tune with the Angels to be excited in that regard," Jon Frisch said on the Locked on Angels podcast (29:19 - 29:36).

"They're not coming because the draw of Ohtani is gone, Mike Trout is on the Injured List all season long. That really, I think, speaks a lot about who's showing up to these games," he continued.

Without Shohei Ohtani, who went to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Mike Trout, who was injured for the last several months of the season, Frisch felt the Angels lacked star power to excite fans.

Angels missed a golden chance to rebuild team

Shohei Ohtani's departure was one of the reasons fans tuned out of the Los Angeles Angels this season.

The Angels could not afford to bring him back, not at the Dodgers' $700 million price. But they could have considered trading him at the 2022 deadline.

According to SI, several teams, including the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, offered massive hauls for Ohtani.

The Padres were reportedly in the best spot, but they ended up sending a haul to the Washington Nationals for Juan Soto. It's a haul that, at the very least, could have been in the Angels' system now.