Maybe Angels should just trade Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani to salvage franchise

Author Photo

Mike Trout is not one to publicly complain.

He knows, of course, that he’s only been to the postseason once, and that was back in 2014. And he knows, of course, that with three MVP awards and nine consecutive top-five finishes in the AL MVP voting — a streak that finally ended in 2021, when he played just 36 games (but still had a 1.8 bWAR) — the Angels’ failures have not been his fault.

He knows that the pitching staff has mostly been a disaster the entirety of his career, and that players brought in by the front office have mostly failed to pan out, regardless of compensation level.

MORE: Could push from Braves fans give Jorge Soler ESPY for Best MLB Player?

But Mike Trout is not one to publicly complain. He says all the right things, that he’s happy with the Angels and that, while the losses and playoff misses are frustrating, he’s confident that will change soon enough. And then, during Tuesday’s game against, a break in the facade finally appeared.

You saw it. Every Angels fans in the country saw it, and it had to send a shiver up their collective spines. Mike Trout was frustrated. He seemed mentally exhausted. He wasn’t mad, he was just disappointed.

Let’s watch it again.

And, yeah. I know it’s just one moment. Maybe we shouldn’t read too much into it. But that feels like as damning of a moment of body language as we’ve seen on the field from some time. From anyone, really, but especially from Mike Trout.

It’s hard not to think about this tweet from last year. 

And, look, you can’t help but wonder what the future holds for the Angels.

Trout will be around, almost certainly. His contract runs through the end of the 2030 season, at $34.5 million per season. You’ll hear smart people opine on why the Angels should traded him, and they won’t be completely wrong. The haul of talent the Angels could get back for a healthy Mike Trout is almost mind-boggling — he’s still only 30 years old — especially if they send along some cash to cover a portion of the yearly salary. But can you really trade a guy like Trout, regardless of what comes back in a trade?

He’s not exactly showing signs of slowing down. In 68 games this year, he has 23 homers, a 191 OPS+ and 4.2 bWAR that is right up there with the MLB leaders.

So maybe the real question is this: What about Shohei Ohtani?

He’s the one signing that has played out better than anyone could have reasonably hoped. He’s one of the top starting pitchers and one of the top sluggers in the league. And, folks, he’s set to become a free agent after the 2023 season.

MORE: Explaining the latest Freddie Freeman drama with agent

No, really. It’s entirely possible — likely, maybe — that Ohtani has exactly 246 games left with the Angels, 84 the rest of this year and 162 in 2023.

He’s an intensely competitive individual who has spoken often about his desire to compete on baseball’s biggest stages, not the side stages. Think he’s going to choose to stay with the Angels after yet another letdown season, after seeing what Trout has dealt with? At some point, doesn’t Trout secretly say, “It’s too late for me, but save yourself, Shohei” or something?

And then, there’s the other part of the equation: Can the Angels really afford to give Ohtani the deal it would require to keep him around?

Here’s what they owe to just two players, Trout and Anthony Rendon, the next four years (in base salary numbers, no counting bonuses, etc.):

2023: $72.5 million
2024: $72.5 million
2025: $72.5 million
2026: $72.5 million

And let’s say Ohtani gave the Angels a pretty significant discount and signed a seven-year, $245 million deal, with an AAV of $35 million per season (it would be higher than that, but we’ll use that for the sake of argument. That would mean the Angels are committing more than $105 million every year for at least the next five years to three players.

That is a lot of money to commit to just three players on a 26-man roster.

So if it’s just two players, maybe it’s Trout and Rendon, and they trade Ohtani. Sounds crazy, right, but they can’t just let Ohtani walk as a free agent. Zero chance of that.

There’s also zero chance it would be Trout and Ohtani, because Rendon’s contract is immovable, and might go down as one of the worst of all-time, if he can’t get healthy.

So what about Ohtani and Rendon, and trading Trout? They have to at least consider it, right? If you’re going to keep either Ohtani or Trout, might as well opt for the younger guy who is, essentially two players in one roster spot.

That’s where the Angels are, as they stare directly into the reality of what’s likely another playoff push that doesn’t even reach the All-Star break. Trade Trout or trade Ohtani, because Rendon’s contract makes keeping both damn near impossible.

Unlike Trout, Angels fans aren’t disappointed — they’re mad.

Author(s)
Ryan Fagan Photo

Ryan Fagan, the national MLB writer for The Sporting News, has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2016. He also dabbles in college hoops and other sports. And, yeah, he has way too many junk wax baseball cards.