Angels GM: Mike Trout '100%' Won't Be Traded Amid Shohei Ohtani Free Agency Rumors

The Mike Trout era will continue for the Los Angeles Angels.

During the MLB winter meetings Tuesday, general manager Perry Minasian definitively ruled out a trade involving the three-time MVP.

The Angels missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season in 2023, meaning they've still reached the postseason only once in Trout's 13 years with the franchise. The short-term outlook isn't exactly rosy, either, with Shohei Ohtani potentially on his way out as a free agent.

Still, teams aren't typically in the business of trading away generational stars, especially when the player is under contract for seven more seasons.

In the case of Trout, his extension included a full no-trade clause, so he rather than the Angels basically holds all of the cards. Once the dust settled on the 2023 campaign, Minasian also gave the impression the 11-time All-Star wouldn't be going anywhere.

"There's no secret here; we need Mike Trout and we need Anthony Rendon," he said in October. "We need those guys to play more. They know that. It's something that we've talked about. They're going to go in the offseason and they're going to do everything they can in their power to be ready to go next year. They understand what they mean to this club, and how productive they can be on and off the field."

Hiring Ron Washington as manager was another sign of the organization's priorities. The 71-year-old Washington presumably didn't take the job with the idea of leading a substantial rebuild.

Broadly speaking there's at least a logic behind moving Trout and for the 32-year-old to embrace a change of scenery.

For the Angels, Trout has missed 249 games over the past three years. He's coming off his worst season since joining the Opening Day roster in 2013, too. Across 82 appearances, he had 18 home runs, 44 RBI and a .263/.367/.490 slash line.

Trout continues to be an elite slugger when healthy. His .388 expected wOBA ranked in the 95th percentile, which was where he finished in barrel percentage (16.0) and hard-hit rate (51.9) as well, per Baseball Savant.

If Minasian was truly willing to consider the unthinkable — parting ways with the greatest hitter of his era — then this was a good time time to do it.

For Trout, Los Angeles has lost the benefit of the doubt when as it related to the front office's ability to surround him with a supporting cast worthy of his prodigious talents.

Few teams have become more synonymous with futility over the last decade. There's a litany of bad trades, free-agent signings that didn't work for one reason or another, and a sustained failure to develop homegrown talent.

Trout took a leap of faith to some degree when he penned his historic extension in March 2019.

"We've been through some ups and downs but I'm really looking forward to the future," he said then. "I really see us winning a championship here. I think if I waited two years, it wouldn't have felt right moving to another team, going straight to a winning team. Teams go through ups and down. I want to be a part of everything. Obviously, I want to win."

The Angels have moved no closer to a World Series title since then, and their only notable accomplishment is squandering the prime years of another Hall of Fame-bound star (Ohtani).

Nobody would've blamed Trout for deciding he wanted an exit, and the only surprise might be that he had waited this long.

Minasian left no room for doubt as to where Los Angeles stands, and his comments would seemingly point to a level of continued commitment from its cornerstone piece.