Report: Angels Would Consider Moving Mike Trout If He Demands Trade This Winter
The Los Angeles Angels could potentially say goodbye to a pair of franchise icons this off-season.
On top of Shohei Ohtani’s looming free agency, the Angels will reportedly be open to discussing a trade involving fellow superstar Mike Trout if he requests out this winter, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
If that occurs, it would mark the first time Los Angeles’ front office has openly fielded offers on the 11-time All-Star during his 13 big-league seasons with the franchise.
The Angels, of course, wouldn’t be able to trade Trout without first receiving his permission, as his contract includes a full no-trade clause. Even if it didn’t, he’d still control his fate since he owns at least 10 years of MLB service time and at least five with the same club.
Nothing will be decided, however, until the 32-year-old speaks with Angels GM Perry Minasian and his staff regarding the franchise’s future after the regular season concludes.
“When it’s brought up in the offseason, you’ve obviously got to talk about it, and think about it,” Trout told the Orange County Register earlier this month. “I haven’t thought about it yet. There are going to be some conversations in the winter, for sure. Just to see the direction of everything and what the plan is.”
Despite rostering baseball’s top two players, Los Angeles has only qualified for the playoffs once (2014) during Trout’s 13-year major-league career. But even that lone postseason stint was short lived, as the team was swept 3-0 in the ALDS by the Kansas City Royals.
Los Angeles went all-in at this year’s trade deadline to end that eight-year drought, pushing their chips into the middle to acquire Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López, among others. Once those decisions backfired, that duo was among six Angels players placed on waivers less than a month later.
At 67-77, sitting 12.5 games out of the final AL wild-card seed with only 18 games remaining, the Angels’ playoff drought is poised to extend to nine seasons this fall.
Trout, a three-time AL MVP, still has seven years and north of $248 million left on his 12-year, $430-million mega contract signed in 2019, which remains the largest deal in MLB history. But he might not hold the record after Ohtani inks his next contract.
Injuries have plagued the right-handed outfielder over the last few seasons, limiting him to fewer than 90 games in two of his previous three campaigns, including 2023. A broken hamate bone has resulted in two IL stints this season, preventing the nine-time Silver Slugger from suiting up more than once since July 3rd.
The Vineland, New Jersey, native is adamant about returning to action in 2023. But with only three weeks remaining, the Angels may opt to hold him out the rest of the way, which would cap his campaign at 82 contests.
A trade package for Trout likely wouldn’t be as enormous as it might have been earlier in his career, given his recent injury history and the significant amount remaining on his historic contract. Still, it’d help the organization hit the reset button, especially after trading multiple top prospects ahead of last month’s trade deadline.
Much of Trout’s decision may ultimately be tied to Ohtani, who won’t pitch for the rest of this season or in 2024 after suffering a UCL tear in his right elbow that’ll require off-season surgery. Nevertheless, the Japanese native expects to command a historic contract this winter.
If the two-way superstar signs elsewhere in free agency, it could incentivize his teammate to consider his alternatives, likely signalling an impending rebuild in Los Angeles.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.