MLB Rumors: Angels 'Open' to Mike Trout Trade in Offseason If Star Asks to Leave

It is possible the Los Angeles Angels could wave goodbye to both Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout this winter.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Angels, "perhaps for the first time, are open to trading All-Star outfielder Trout if he indicates to them that he wants out. 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."

Ohtani is set to hit free agency this offseason and is likely to command the most lucrative contract in baseball, with many of the game's top contenders set to enter a bidding war for his services. He's never reached the postseason with the Angels, and his best bet at eventually winning a title may come with a different franchise.

The departure of the game's most unique superstar might prompt Trout—currently the holder of the largest contract in baseball history—to seek greener pastures as well.

As Nightengale noted, Trout's recent injury should somewhat dampen his trade value. He only played 82 games this season, and his 119 games in 2021 were the most he's played in the past three seasons.

"If you look back at the last few years, I've been banged up," he told reporters earlier in September. "To go out there and put a full year together, that's the main goal for everybody, especially myself."

When healthy, Trout has been one of the game's preeminent stars, earning 11 All-Star bids, three AL MVP awards and nine Silver Slugger awards. In his time healthy this season he hit .263 with 18 homers, 44 RBI, 54 runs and a .858 OPS.

For his MLB career, his 162-game average comes out to a .301 batting average, 40 home runs, 102 RBI, 120 runs, 22 stolen bases and a .994 OPS. Epic numbers, but injuries have prevented him from getting anywhere close to a full season over the last eight years, missing at least 22 games per season in that span.

At 32, Trout should still have some big seasons left in the tank if he can stay healthy, so teams would absolutely be interested were he to become available. It certainly would be a devastating winter for the Angels to lose both Ohtani and Trout in the same offseason, but it might be trending that way.

Halos' fans, in other words, might want to start emotionally prepping themselves for a full-scale rebuild.