No player is untradeable, not even an aging, broken-down Mike Trout signed through 2030. But with Trout’s latest injury, the horrible idea of him spending the rest of his career with the Los Angeles Angels is getting closer and closer to becoming In fact.
Trout, who will turn 33 on August 1. At 7, he is expected to be out at least 8 to 12 weeks while he recovers from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He is guaranteed $35.45 million this season and in each of the next six. Even if he returned, say, in August. 1, and finished on a hot streak, which team would trust him enough this offseason to take on most or all of the remaining $212.7 million? From 2021 to 2023, Trout missed more games than he played. And since he has historically healed slowly, he’s not exactly on track to reverse that trend in 2024.
“We will get through it” 😢 @EricaLBeston @angeles l #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/2pxLf8JJfn
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) May 1, 2024
Of course, a Trout trade was a long way off. To the dismay of many opposing fans, the three-time MVP and 11-time All-Star has steadfastly refused to ask out of Anaheim, maintaining that he wants to spend his entire career with one team, like his childhood idol, Derek Jeter. , and win with the Angelenos.
At the start of spring training, Trout said he was “pushing, pushing, pushing” the front office to add free agents, an indication, perhaps, of his growing impatience. Well, his fuse had to be shorter. He waited too long.
For a commercial scenario to be realistic, the following was necessary:
• The Angels stunk again, which was almost a given.
• Trout to A) return to near-MVP form, which at least had a chance of happening before he hurt his knee; and B) request a trade, which even Angels fans would have understood considering he has never won a postseason game and hasn’t even appeared in the playoffs since 2014.
• Angels owner Arte Moreno will demonstrate his willingness to not only grant Trout’s wish but also include a significant amount of cash in a trade, which…never happened.
Moreno, remember, repeatedly refused to authorize a Shohei Ohtani trade, even though it would have generated a monstrous return that could have boosted his sorry franchise. He then refused to match the Los Angeles Dodgers’ $700 million offer to Ohtani with $680 million deferred, a deal that could well pay for itself. Of course, it is possible that Ohtani would not have accepted the Angels’ money. But all the Angels will get for him now is, yikes, the 74th pick in the 2024 draft.
With a reduced annual salary: 15 million dollars? 20 million dollars? – It is possible that some club still wants Trout. Transactions involving large payments have become increasingly common over the last quarter of a century. Moreno has done something, sending the New York Yankees more than $28 million to get rid of Vernon Wells in March 2013 and $63 million to the Texas Rangers to get rid of Josh Hamilton in April 2015. Wells was no longer a productive player. Hamilton angered Moreno by relapsing into substance abuse. Trout, on the other hand, is a model citizen and an elite player when he is healthy, a favorite of Moreno.
For Wells and Hamilton, the Angels received virtually nothing. For Trout, Moreno would likely want six top-100 prospects, particularly if he was parting with tens of millions to facilitate the deal. Trout’s actual trade value, even with a reduced financial commitment, would be much lower. So, good luck convincing Moreno of this. I wouldn’t trade Ohtani when, more than once, he had the opportunity to make the same type of deal the Washington Nationals made for Juan Soto.
And now where are the Angels? Stuck with two players, Trout and Anthony Rendon, who combined to earn nearly $75 million annually until Rendon’s contract expires in 2026, but can’t stay on the field. That’s where Trout’s tolerance for Moreno’s erratic management becomes less understandable. The team is a disaster, has been a disaster and is going to be a disaster at least for the next few years.
The AthleticKeith Law ranked the Angels’ farm system 29th out of 30, ahead of only the Oakland Athletics. Even if the Angels somehow turn things around at the end of Trout’s contract, how functional of a player will he be in his 30s? His 30 years have surely not gone well for him.
In spring training, Trout told me he heard the noise that he’s happy with the Angels, that he doesn’t want to win and that he won’t demand a trade. In an interview I did with him for Fox Sports, he said: “It motivates me more.” He was convinced that he was about to get back into shape and said he got chills just thinking about the possibility. And the way he was playing, a 50-homer, 30-stolen-base season (proof that he was still the GOAT, or at least one of the best current players) seemed within reach for him.
Its profitability continues to be one of its most endearing qualities. The suggestion that he doesn’t want to play in a more demanding market always seemed misguided to those who know him best, who see how hard he works, who witness his competitive fire. But Trout’s desire to succeed with the Angels rather than elsewhere seemed, to most outsiders, a fanciful notion.
Armed with an unchanged full protection, he could have taken advantage of his path to the Philadelphia Phillies, the team closest to his hometown of Millville, New Jersey. He could have mixed in with a clubhouse full of hungry stars: Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber. , Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. And he could have been celebrated for escaping a bad situation instead of criticized for staying put.
It didn’t have to be the Phillies. It could have been virtually any contender with payroll flexibility. And it was not necessary to get to the point of an exchange. Trout twice signed extensions with the Angels when he could have become a free agent entering his age 26 and 29 seasons. His loyalty was commendable. But for now, he looks like a modern equivalent of Ernie Banks, who holds the major league record for most games played in a career without making the playoffs (2,528).
Banks, playing in an era before free agency, never had the opportunity to choose another team. For most of his career, only the league champions made the playoffs and met in the World Series. He was a beloved figure, known as Mr. Cub. He made it to the Hall of Fame. But for many, he was always missing something, an aspect of what could have been in his legacy.
Trout, after his latest injury, is moving into similar territory. More than ever, he seems destined to remain Mr. Angel. No matter how good his intentions may have been, it is a very sad thing to say.
(Photo: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)
