Longtime Angels star outfielder Mike Trout’s view of his future with Los Angeles wasn’t altered by the organization being among the biggest sellers at the trade deadline.
If anything, he saw it as a necessary move in the right direction.
“Nah, it hasn’t changed anything,” Trout said. “We’re not where we want to be. Doing what we did, I think helps our future. And we’ll see where it goes.”
Trout, 34, is in his 16th season with the Angels, who drafted him 25th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft. He’s under contract through 2030 on a deal which pays him $37.1 million annually.
However, the Angels have the worst record in baseball at 43-70 entering Wednesday’s action and shipped off five players at the deadline in right-handed starter Jose Soriano, slugging outfielder Jo Adell and relievers Ryan Zeferjahn, Brent Suter and Kirby Yates.
“We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror,” Trout said. “We’re not where we want to be. I think the best step in the best direction to turn things around is to do what we did. It’s tough seeing your teammates go. Built great relationships with all the guys. It’s a family. It’s a brotherhood. We see these guys more than our regular family. That’s the toughest thing, but we got some great prospects in return.”
Trout was brought into the front office’s trade room a few days ahead of the deadline to be informed of the plans and the team’s trajectory.
“He truly loves the game of baseball and so he was just curious of what this whole thing looked like,” interim general manager John Mozeliak said of the decision to keep Trout somewhat in the loop. “He’s the face of this franchise, and from where I stand, we want to get this better for him and for others because our fans want to see winning, and that’s the goal of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Trout clarified this visit did not include him offering input on players he thought the team should acquire or ship off.
The three-time American League MVP and 12-time All-Star went through a rough patch of availability from 2021-24, playing more than 82 games just once in those four seasons.
He played 130 games last year, though, and is at 94 games played this season, posting a .245 average with 18 homers and 40 RBIs while snapping a two-year drought of All-Star recognition.
Trout is a career .291 hitter with 422 homers and 1,058 RBIs in 1,742 games, which is less than 300 away from breaking Garret Anderson’s franchise record of 2,013 games played for the Angels.
