The Los Angeles Angels are shutting down any Mike Trout trade rumors. The team had heard chatter that they might need to move on from him to kickstart a rebuild, but GM Perry Minasian said that that would not happen in no uncertain terms. The outfielder has a no-trade clause, but some pundits believed he would or even should revoke it to go elsewhere.
The Angels have pretty much been bad since the start of Trout’s career there. He has one playoff trip with the team and zero playoff wins. He signed a lengthy extension to stay there, but things have not turned around.
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With Shohei Ohtani likely leaving in free agency, the roster will once again be barren outside of Trout. Rumors began to churn that trading Trout would bring about a much-needed reset, but Minasian confirmed that that will not be happening:
“Mike Trout is not getting traded. 100 percent.”
Trout would have to want to leave LA, which doesn’t seem to be the case. The team would also have to admit defeat and completely start over, which isn’t ideal, either. They went all-in on the deadline and lost a lot of prospects for nothing, so the farm isn’t ready to help, either.
Mike Trout not leaving the Angels, GM says
Mike Trout is not a free agent until 2031, when he will be 39 years old. That’s the only time he could leave, as there are no options before then and he’s extremely unlikely to ever be designated for assignment.
The only way he leaves the Angels is by way of trade, but GM Perry Minasian says that’s not in the cards. That could change in the future as Trout continues to age, but for now, he’s locked in.
That may or may not be a good thing. The Angels are not built to contend. They’re likely to lose free agent Shohei Ohtani without recouping anything. Trout’s trade would at least fetch some higher-end prospects to help a rebuild.
It would also leave the roster truly devoid of any big stars and anyone for the fans to truly root for. As bad as the Angels have been, Trout was worth watching and rooting for. Without him, they don’t have much for fans to be excited about.
