MLB trade rumors: 5 destinations for Mike Trout

2. Philadelphia Phillies

With the governing assumption that Bryce Harper will sign with the Yankees for something in the neighborhood of 10 years and $500 million, would that leave them enough left over to sign Trout when he hits free agency in 2020. New York plays by its own financial rules, but committing a billion dollars to two players is a stretch even for them. The next likeliest landing spot for free-agent Trout is Philadelphia, where the Phillies have been stripping payroll away for years.

Trout is from a small town in south-central New Jersey about an hour from Philadelphia. He still lives in Millville during the offseason, and has a budding friendship with Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. It doesn’t take that much imagination to picture him signing with the Phillies when given the chance to pick his next team.

The Angels could at least try and swap Trout to the Phillies ahead of his walk year and bring back some of that young talent that has been maturing as the rebuild continues. A hypothetical package could center around Maikel Franco, a big third baseman who has yet to put it all together in the big leagues. Franco is still just 24, and makes consistent contact. He is making more hard contact this year than last, and his .209 batting average is weighed down by an impossibly unlucky .212 batting average on balls in play. In addition to Franco, the Phillies would ship shortstop J.P. Crawford, catcher Jorge Alfaro, and starter Jerad Eickhoff.

The possibility of trading for Trout is not likely to excite the Phillies too much at this stage of the game. They’ll wait until he hits the open market and then blow him away with a monster offer to come home for the rest of his career.