5 teams that need to save Mike Trout from another dramatic Angels letdown

2. Dodgers can do the Dodgers thing and acquire Mike Trout

The Los Angeles Dodgers spent over $1 billion this offseason. What's another few hundred million? We heard the Trout-Dodgers rumors earlier in the winter. It's almost too easy. He wouldn't have to leave Anaheim. It's a simple commute, across town, on a team destined to win a ton of games. It's past time for Trout to win in the playoffs, which is presumably his primary goal in the event of a trade. The Dodgers assure him the best opportunity to do so.

Obviously the Angels would be... hesitant to pair Trout and Ohtani once again with their more glamorous LA counterparts. That said, Trout has the power to eventually express his displeasure with the Angels' situation. And, once he does that, his no-trade clause will provide control over the ultimate destination. The Dodgers are somehow the No. 3 farm system in baseball, on top of the boatload of talent on the MLB roster. So, it's not as if the Dodgers can't furnish the Angels with a suitable compensatory package.

We have spent all winter imagining the Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani trio atop the Dodgers' lineup. Now, plug Trout into the mix and weep (or celebrate, depending on your persuasion). It would certainly be a sight to behold. The Dodgers would match the Braves and Phillies for power, and then some. I'm not sure any pitching staff can credibly claim to have the solution for Los Angeles' offense at that point.

Trout has made it clear he's fond of doing things the hard way — or at least not taking the easiest possible route to success. That's why he's sticking in Anaheim for now, and why he could balk at the idea of making the rich richer across town. But, if Trout truly wants to add a World Series title to his incomparable resumé, of course the Dodgers are his best shot.