Should the SF Giants be interested if the Angels consider trading Mike Trout?
There may be another superstar available to big-league teams, like the SF Giants, this offseason. According to a report by MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Los Angeles Angels may finally be willing to entertain trade offers for outfielder Mike Trout this offseason if he requests a trade. Trout has been limited by injuries in recent seasons but already has proven to be among the best players of this era. Trout has hit .263/.367/.490 with 14 doubles and 18 home runs in 82 games this season. He has seven years and $248.15 million remaining on his contract.
Angels CF Mike Trout hits against the SF Giants at Tempe Diablo Stadium. (2023)
Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
“The Los Angeles Angels, perhaps for the first time, are open to trading All-Star outfielder Mike Trout if he indicates to them that he wants out,” Nightingale wrote. “Trout has exclusive no-trade rights and said recently that he wants to have a private conversation with the front office and ownership about their direction.”
Trout, the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year, three-time MVP, nine-time silver slugger, and 11-time All-Star has long been one of the best baseball players in the league when healthy. Drafted in the first round by the Angels in 2009, he made his MLB debut in 2011, and has spent his entire career with the team. When the Angels successfully landed baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani in 2018, many were convinced that there would be no beating a team with two such superstars.
Unfortunately, the Angels, as they’ve proven over the last five plus years with both Ohtani and Trout on their roster, have somehow failed to build a consistent contender around the two. This season, when the team seemed to be making a serious push towards the playoffs almost entirely off their backs, owner Arte Moreno said the Angels would not entertain any trade offers for Ohtani. They even made additions to the roster for the first time in years. Less than a month later, however, Ohtani suffered an injury that rendered him unable to pitch, and the Angels subsequently lost several of their additions off waivers.
Now in September, the Angels are firmly out of the playoff race, and not only does it look like Ohtani has resigned himself to the reality that the Angels will not support his desire to win a championship, but it seems Trout could soon follow. For Trout, who’s given over a decade of his career to the team, this is major news. But at 32 years old and dealing with injuries that have brought down his playing time significantly since 2019, he will not net the Angels as much as he once would.
For the Giants, who’ve struggled since they signed Barry Bonds in 1992 to land any superstar via free agency, let alone one or two tiers below, this could be the perfect opportunity. Despite the fact that the Angels would receive less than they would hope for Trout, it would still likely be far more than many teams across the league are comfortable with parting with, prospect-wise. Granted, Trout's full no-trade clause could be a complication for the Giants, much like it was in the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes in 2017.
After striking out on both Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa in the offseason leading to 2023 and choosing to forge ahead with a series of aggressive promotions from the minor league system, trading for a star might be one trick left in the SF Giants' toolbox. It's unlikely that the team would be looking to part with their best prospects, especially those that were promoted this season. But Mike Trout's injuries and other MLB teams' reticence to pick up his sizable contract might lower the price.
