I agree.
I don't think the Angels trade Ohtani unless they are completely out of the playoff race in mid-July.
And I think it will be difficult for the Angels to even compete to sign him in the off-season unless they are fully committed to going over the CBT threshold.
On the positive side they do have $42 M in salary coming off the roster if they decide to part ways with Loup, Tepera, Moore, Renfroe and Urshela. To stay competitive they would need to take $20 M to pay for Ohtani's bump from $30 M to $50 M. and then spread the $22 M raising the floor around him.
Maybe they resign Renfroe and/or Urshela but they need some of the young guys to break out in 2024 (Rodriguez, Joyce, Bachman, Adell, Neto, etc.) and replace the veterans who are becoming free agents.
When the farm becomes your floor instead of free agency you are headed in the right direction as an organization.