Mike Trout Rumors: MLB Exec Says Angels Would Have to Eat Most of Contract in Trade

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout might be a sure-fire Hall of Famer and one of the greatest living baseball players, but teams would put his reputation aside if they were to acquire the three-time American League MVP, according to Sam Blum and Andy McCullough of The Athletic.

"Given the age, injury history and financial commitment, one executive said the Angels would have to eat more than half the money just to bring a potential partner to the table," they reported. "Asked how difficult it would be to move Trout, another rival executive said, 'Incredibly.'"

Trout is signed though 2030 and has more than $222.7 million left on his contract.

Signing that deal was a joyous moment for the Angels at the time because it increased the likelihood the greatest star in franchise history would spend his entire career in Anaheim, California.

There's always a level of risk when extending a player, no matter how good, into his age-38 season. With Trout, the hope was that his game would age gracefully and the more intrinsic value he held as an Angels icon would help to cover for his $37.1 million salary.

Instead, the outstanding balance on his contract is shaping up to be a millstone on the payroll of whatever team he's on. It's no different than when Los Angeles was paying a steadily diminishing version of Albert Pujols more than $25 million annually before finally releasing him in 2021.

Teams have generally become much smarter about not using past performance to fully guide what a player will do moving forward. In the case of Trout, it's a combination of his production declining in tandem with persistent injury problems.

The 33-year-old has logged more than 82 appearances just once over the past four seasons, and his numbers between 2023 and 2024 raise concerns about what he can do at the plate when he's healthy.

Across 488 plate appearances, he has 28 home runs but a .252/.357/.504 slash line and a 135 OPS+, per Baseball Reference. It's not a good combination when a hitter is walking less and striking out more, a trend that has extended for multiple years with the 11-time All-Star.

In the past, trading Trout felt unthinkable because he meant so much to the Angels. Now, a trade might be equally implausible but for much different reasons.