The Los Angeles Angels, who might lose Shohei Ohtani in free agency this winter, may also face a reckoning with their franchise’s greatest homegrown player.
Once the Angels’ difficult and disappointing season comes to an end, Mike Trout wants to discuss the future direction of the club with management.
“When it’s brought up in the offseason, you’ve obviously got to talk about it, and think about it,” Trout told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “I haven’t thought about it yet. There are going to be some conversations in the winter, for sure. Just to see the direction of everything and what the plan is.”
The 32-year-old wouldn’t speculate about a potential trade demand, refusing to comment when asked if that was a possibility.
Trout has won three AL MVPs and nine Silver Sluggers during his 13 seasons with the Angels, establishing himself as the greatest player in franchise history. In 2019, he committed to the team ostensibly for the rest of his career by signing a 12-year, $426.5-million extension.
But despite his illustrious career, the Angels have failed to build a winner around both Trout and Ohtani, his fellow transcendent superstar. Trout has made the playoffs just once in his career, going 1-for-12 while the Halos were swept by Kansas City in the 2014 ALDS. They’ve posted only three winning records with Trout on the roster as a regular player, all of them coming before Ohtani joined the team.
L.A. opened its wallet in the winter to try and end its eight-year playoff drought as Ohtani’s pending free agency loomed. The stars were doing their parts on the field before a rash of injuries – including to Trout, who’s played just one game in the second half due to a fractured hamate bone, as well as Ohtani the pitcher – derailed their playoff hopes.
Trout enjoyed a solid season before his injury, hitting .263/.367/.490 with 18 homers and 44 RBIs over 84 games. When healthy, he remains a force on the field and a game-changing talent who could help most franchises. But thanks to a slew of injuries, he hasn’t played more than 140 games in a season since 2016.
The Angels’ recent slump led the team to place six players – including several high-profile deadline acquisitions – on waivers this week. Five of them were claimed by contending teams.
“I was surprised (by the waiver moves) as much as everybody was,” Trout said. “I didn’t see what was coming.”
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