A Braves-Angels trade to make MLB Insider's Mike Trout fever dream come true

Mike Trout has been the gold standard in MLB for many years, a true baseball prodigy who has lived up to the hype with the Los Angeles Angels at every single turn. The problem, of course, is that the Angels have hardly held up their end of the bargain. Trout has played in the MLB Postseason just once in his career, back in 2014 when he was a mere 22 years old.

With Shohei Ohtani's departure from the Halos in free agency this offseason, it feels as though a clock might be ticking until Trout, who has been more loyal than most anyone would (or even should) be to the Angels, wants out and wants the chance to play for a contender in October. LA is nowhere close to that, which is one MLB analyst wants Trout traded to a team that will be playing meaningful playoff baseball this year.

That team is the Atlanta Braves, one of the World Series favorites alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees this season. They're also the team that Stephen Nesbitt of The Windup suggested on a recent episode of the podcast should free Mike Trout from the Angels at this year's deadline.

"Mike Trout … He will end the summer as an Atlanta Brave," Nesbitt said. "He’s going to get traded to the Braves, and I say this because … Mike Trout is unhappy with the direction the Angels are going. They have given him an unbelievable amount of money. He’s going to be making $35.45 million buckaroos annually until 2030. He’s in line to make a bunch more money. He keeps getting injured.

"However, he’s still a very good baseball player as evidenced by what happened on Opening Day, and the Angels are headed in the other direction. They didn’t try when he asked them to add more this offseason. They went ahead and did not do that."

Braves-Angels trade that gets Mike Trout on a World Series contender

It's true that injuries have been a disconcerting factor with Trout of late as he's played just 237 total games from 2021-23 out of a possible 486. Moreover, he's under contract through 2030 on a deal that pays $35+ million per season. Oh, and let's not forget that his deal also gives Trout trade veto power, meaning he won't be moved anywhere he wouldn't want to play.

But if the situation arises wherein Trout wants to go to a contender, the trade veto power shouldn't be an issue for the Braves -- even if it would put the outfielder on his hometown team's biggest rival. So what would that trade look like? We took a stab at putting together a trade package that might make it work for both sides.

The truth of the matter is that Trout's trade value due to his recent injury history at 32 years old and his salary is not at its highest. The Braves would certainly have to go to the top of their prospect pool to make this trade work, sending their top arm in AJ Smith-Shawver and a 20-year-old shortstop prospect as well who had a near-.800 OPS in High-A last season with Nacho Alvarez.

Atlanta also ships off Adam Duvall in this deal as the veteran was signed to platoon in left field with Jarred Kelenic this season. Perhaps it could be Kelenic on the move as a higher-upside long-term option that might intrigue the Angels more, but in any case, the Braves would be looking to move away from that platoon, which likely means moving one of the two in a trade for Trout.

Now, let's be abundantly clear: A lot of dominoes would have to fall in the right place for this to happen. The Braves, a notoriously frugal franchise and front office, would have to be willing to take on Trout's salary or even a large portion of it. Meanwhile, Trout would have to want out of Los Angeles and be willing to play in Atlanta. And on top of that, the Angels would have to acquiesce to his request and get a deal done. All of that puts the percentage of this trade happening at being pretty low.

But in a world where we're dreaming about what the Braves could be, having Trout in the outfield with Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris II as part of arguably the best lineup in baseball could be electric. And more importantly, it would give baseball something that fans deserve to see: It's biggest star of the past decade being on the biggest stage in October.