Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout’s Future in Question Following Ohtani Injury
By Phil Akre
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.