Could this finally be the summer when three-time AL MVP Mike Trout leaves the Los Angeles Angels?
The future first-ballot Hall-of-Fame outfielder is in the midst of his 15th MLB season (all with the Angels) and while he’s returned from his knee injury that cost him roughly one month earlier this year, the team, yet again, appears destined to miss the playoffs.
While the league has yet to reach the All-Star break, Halos fans should have little reason to believe that their postseason drought will end in 2025.
The Angels entered Thursday at 36-37, tied with the Minnesota Twins in the AL wild-card standings and just 1 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final playoff spot.
Some of the numbers paint a more dire picture for Los Angeles, however, as its -56 run differential is the eighth worst in all of baseball.
Trout has racked up 11 All-Star honors and scores of other accolades during his big-league career, but the Angels have failed to make the playoffs every year since his 2011 rookie campaign. Trout helped lead the club to the postseason that year, though they were swept in the ALDS by the Kansas City Royals.
Despite having both Trout and two-way superstar and two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani on the same roster for six years, the Angels never finished better than third place in the AL West or with more than 80 wins. In the final season of the Trout-Ohtani era in 2023, the Angels finished in fourth place in the division at 73-89 for their eighth consecutive losing season.
Ohtani won another MVP award and not only made the playoffs for the first time in 2024, but his Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series as well.
Now, Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer thinks that Trout should think about leaving the Angels too, before it’s too late.
‘Now is a Good Time’ For Mike Trout to Consider ‘Getting Out’ of Los Angeles
In his post titled “Dream Landing Spots for MLB’s High-Priced, Change of Scenery Stars Post-Devers Trade,” Rymer connected Trout to the Boston Red Sox.
“(Trout’s) raked since returning (from his injury), going off for a .317 average and a .408 OBP in 17 games. The power hasn’t been there, but … well, come on. We know it’s in there somewhere,” he wrote. “As to the second end, Trout has never and perhaps never will be a ‘rock the boat’ type. And he may have to be for a trade to happen, as it’s hard to imagine famously stubborn owner Arte Moreno being the one to want to send him away. All these things said, the three-time MVP will be 34 on July 8 and he’s in a moment in time when his prime is over and the Angels are stuck in a 10-year cycle of losing seasons. If he hasn’t already, now is a good time for him to think long and hard about getting out.”
“The Millville Meteor” has registered 11 home runs, 27 RBI and a .229/.320/.447 triple slash across 197 plate appearances thus far in 2025. Though he’s already approaching his mid-30s, Trout is just in year six of a 12-year, $426.5 million contract.
Injuries have hampered Trout in recent years and prevented him from putting together perhaps a truly historic career.
After playing at least 134 games in seven of his first eight full seasons from 2012-19, the former AL Rookie of the Year hasn’t reached the threshold since. Following the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Trout was limited to 36 contests in 2021, 119 in 2022, 82 in 2023 and 29 last year.
Red Sox Trading for Trout ‘Not a Hard Sell’
In the wake of the stunning Rafael Devers’ trade, many baseball fans would be as shocked, if not more so, if Boston then went after Trout.
Rymer explained that it could be possible, however.
“The Red Sox trading away Rafael Devers only to turn around and trade for Trout wouldn’t necessarily be an upgrade. But if absolutely nothing else, it would be amazing content. And as ideas go, it’s not a hard sell. The Red Sox saved about $200 million by trading Devers, which is roughly what Trout is still owed. They badly need right-handed thump, and Trout could provide it by slotting into Devers’ old haunt at DH, with only occasional duty in Boston’s youth-infused outfield,” he wrote. “Of course, Trout would have to have faith that the Red Sox can actually contend after mostly not doing so since 2018. But if his choice is between the Red Sox and the Angels, the former is by far the better bet to make sure he doesn’t remain stuck on three career playoff games.”
The Red Sox enter Thursday at 39-37, just one percentage point behind the Guardians for the third and final AL wild-card spot. Boston hasn’t made the playoffs since 2021 and has missed the tournament in five of the last six years since its 2018 World Series title.
Red Sox Named ‘Dream Landing Spot’ For 11-Time All-Star Ahead of MLB Trade Deadline