The Los Angeles Angels are reportedly willing to trade “baseball genius” Mike Trout if he wants out.
“The Angels are willing to trade All-Star outfielder Mike Trout if he asks,” USA Today reported on Sept. 11.
In early September, Trout told the local Orange County Register that he plans to “have discussions with team management in the offseason about the future direction of the organization.”
At the time, Trout said, “If it comes up in the offseason, obviously we’ll have to talk about it and think about it. I haven’t thought about it yet. There will definitely be some conversations in the winter. We’ll have to see where everything goes and what the plan is.”
At the time, Trout’s comments were in reference to teammate Shohei Otani’s free agency and the team’s direction, which appears to have included Trout’s own trade.
Trout signed a 12-year, $430 million extension with the Angels in 2019 and still has seven years and $248 million remaining on his contract.
Trout made his 11th All-Star appearance this season, but has played in just one game since July 3 due to a fractured metacarpal bone in his left wrist. Trout, 32, has a slash line of .263/.367/.490, his worst since appearing in 40 games in his rookie year in 2011.
The 2012 American League Rookie of the Year, Trout has won three MVP awards (2014, 2016, 2019) and finished second or better in MVP voting seven times.
But injuries have slowed him down in recent years. Only once in the last four seasons has he played more than 82 games. Trout has said he plans to return for the rest of the season after playing just 82 games this year, but that decision may be up to the team. 안전놀이터
The Angels have only made the postseason once since 2014, and have been on the sidelines of fall ball for nine years since 2015. The Angels kept Trout and added a series of big free agents (Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Anthony Rendon), but it didn’t work. Even after acquiring the “two-hitter” Ohtani, the Angels have failed to make the postseason every year.
The Angels’ 2009 first-round pick has spent his entire 13-year major league career with the Angels. He has a trade veto for players who have played at least 10 years and at least five years with the same team.
Prior to this season, Trout said, “I’m going to do everything I can to keep him with the Angels,” which could mean leaving the Angels at the same time as Ohtani, who is a free agent.