The Los Angeles Angels have rostered Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, two of the best players in baseball, for the last several seasons, yet they've failed to make the postseason since 2014.
The Angels looked close to competitive at this year's trade deadline and held onto pieces that they might have been able to otherwise trade, like Hunter Renfroe. Los Angeles had to face the music weeks later, but with the deadline passed, their only recourse was to waive those players, including Lucas Giolito who they had just traded for, resulting in far less for the team in return. They get simply cap space, and even that was a bit of a failed effort.
Now, like most of us, Mike Trout is wondering what's next for the Angels. Shohei Ohtani will command a massive, $500+ million contract, most likely this winter. The Angels do not appear to be the front-runners to re-sign the generational talent.
Trout is under team control for quite some time. He's in the midst of a 12-year deal worth $426.5 million in total signed in 2019. His best baseball left will be played in these next few years, though, so Trout wants to play for a winning team, one would assume.
Mike Trout asks for meeting to assess Angels direction and one can only help but think of a trade
According to Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register, Mike Trout will be having a meeting with Angels management about the direction of the franchise (subscription required).
Max Scherzer requested a similar meeting with the Mets brass before the trade deadline. They essentially told him that the reality was the team needed to retool, and that they need a few years before they think they could be competitive.
A betting man would anticipate Trout getting a similar response from the Angels. And when he does, that likely leads to the logical scenario being him and the Angels leaning toward a trade. That's not a sure thing, but that's how these conversations often go.
For what it's worth, Trout said he wouldn't comment on whether or not he would request a trade.
Plenty of teams would love Trout the player. Few would like to have Trout the contract on their books. A trade, and what the return looks like, almost entirely relies on how much of the contract the Angels are willing to eat on their end to make it more attractive for other teams.