Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout’s Future in Question Following Ohtani Injury
Following Shohei Ohtani’s UCL diagnosis, the Los Angeles Angels season is (unofficially) over. The injury brings many questions, but one lingers over the rest; Is Mike Trout’s time in LA coming to an end?
In 2016, Lee Steinberg of Forbes.com published an article titled, “Will the Angels be Forced to Trade AL MVP Mike Trout?” I remember reading it, and I had one overbearing thought by the end of it about the Los Angeles Angels.
I thought it was nuts.
I mean, how could any organization trade Mike freakin’ Trout? Aside from being the face of baseball, he’s the best player of the generation and a true five-tool talent. Of course, Steinberg’s piece was certainly warranted.
He summed up his stance pretty well into the second paragraph of the story.
“Because of bad decisions in drafting, trading and player development, Trout seems destined to play for a team with little hope of improving, whose only hope may be to trade him and rebuild with multiple players and prospects,” Steinberg said. “Even though Mike is the ultimate loyal gamer, how fair is it to him to leave him languishing for a career without the hope of winning?”
His article wasn’t the first of its kind. In fact, the Trout trade articles all centered on one theme; the teams inability to get over the hump of mediocrity.
Due to two-way star Shohei Ohtani‘s UCL diagnosis and probable Tommy John surgery paired with the teams poor performance, Trout’s future isn’t as clear as it was two years ago.
As a result, the organization has a couple of routes they can take with their star.
Option 1: Keep Him
Trout is locked up through 2020 in LA. That means he hits the free agent market in time for the 2021 season. He’ll be 30 years old and still be in his prime.
If Trout stays in LA, the Angels still have two full seasons left to capitalize. The question is, can they actually do anything to build a winner?
If you look towards the front office, don’t. You really can’t fault GM Billy Eppler. He snagged Ohtani out of nowhere, only to have him fall to the dreaded UCL tear. He did put a fair amount of talent around Trout this season.
Next season, Ohtani will be unable to pitch if he undergoes TJ surgery. But, he’ll probably be able to hit at some point. His injury is just the latest edition of a sad series for the Angels. As Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com pointed out, six Angels’ pitchers have had TJ surgery in the last four years. Yikes.
With Ohtani, Trout, Andrelton Simmons and Justin Upton, the Angels still have five great pieces for a winning lineup.
Still, does the supporting cast around the bunch get the job done? Probably not. But, top propsect Jo Adell will be in the majors sooner than later.
Given the possibility of Ohtani’s return to the lineup in 2019, the Angels will probably want to give the Trout-Ohtani pairing its final two years (or more, if Trout is extended).
Option 2: Trade Him
Could you imagine if Trout were traded? Twitter would collapse and the sports world would be set ablaze. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but it would be huge.
By trading Trout, the Angels would be very clearly giving up. That is why it’d be so hard to understand this move.
If Trout is lost, that takes away the teams biggest star and leaves Ohtani as the new face of the franchise.
While Ohtani is supremely talented, he couldn’t make up for Trout’s impact on the fanbase and on the field. Trading Trout would also mean the team never sees him with Jo Adell.
Teams would have to give up, well, a lot. I mean, they would be trading for the best player in the sport.
It’d be like LeBron James getting traded, just woah. But, if the Angels’ really wanted to beef up their major league roster and minor league system, a Trout trade would be the right move to make.
In his piece for the Athletic, Ken Rosenthal mentioned a potential package for Trout from the Atlanta Braves.
“The exec proposed the following package from the Braves: Outfielder Ender Inciarte and left-hander Sean Newcomb plus the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 7 prospects, according to MLBPipeline.com, from a talent-rich system: right-handers Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson, third baseman Austin Riley and righty Touki Toussaint. Sounds like a lot? Of course it’s a lot — the Braves would be getting Mike Trout.”
Enough said.
Option 3: Extend Him
Ah, we’ve arrived to the real world. Well, it’s not the real world…yet. But, an extension could very well be the best move the Angels could make with Trout.
The Angels could extend him, a free agent after 2020, and continue to put pieces around him.
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This could make a lot of sense, too, given the fact that Jo Adell will be in the majors in the near future. While the farm is lacking in high-end talent, Simmons, Ohtani, Trout, and Adell would be a good group to build on.
They’d absolutely have to pay top dollar, but it’d be better than losing him for just one draft pick. The Angels have spent before. They are paying Justin Upton good money.
But, if there’s one player deserving of a long-term extension, it’s Trout. The question is if he’ll want to stay in LA where mediocrity has plagued his organization.
dark. Next. Machado at Third Base for NYY?
He simply could want to play for a proven winner.
Whatever the case, it will be fun to see it unfold. When the move will come, though, is an unknown.