According to an MLB insider, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout does not want to be traded away from the only team he’s ever played for.
Trout has been with the Angels organization since he was taken with the 25th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. Now 34 years old, Trout has been on the Angels’ big-league roster since 2011, putting up Hall of Fame numbers during his 16 seasons in the majors.
But with the Angels struggling once again this year, there have been rumors that the team might ask Trout if he wants to be traded as the club tries to unload the remaining four years of his hefty contract.
It appears he is staying put, however.
Mike Trout Doesn’t Want to Be Traded
According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale, Trout doesn’t want to go anywhere.
With a full no-trade clause and 10-and-5 rights, Trout can block any potential trade, and with him wanting to stay in Los Angeles, he won’t be going anywhere.
“Just in case a thousand or so reporters want to ask once again, Mike Trout wants to stay with the Angels and has no interest in being traded. He also has all of the power with a full no-trade clause to go along with his 10-and-5 rights,” Nightengale wrote in USA Today.
The reason Nightingale brings up reporters asking Trout about being traded is that he is on the American League All-Star team this year, and the MLB All-Star Game takes place on Tuesday in Philadelphia, which is close to where Trout grew up in New Jersey.
There is no doubt that reporters are going to ask Trout about whether or not he wants to be moved after another season of losing in Los Angeles, but according to Nightengale, it’s a moot point as he’s not going anywhere.
Mike Trout’s Contract Wouldn’t Be Easy to Move
Even if Trout wanted to be traded, it wouldn’t be easy for the Angels to trade him.
That’s because Trout has this season at a sky-high salary of $37,116,667 plus four more additional seasons beyond this one at the same number. That’s a lot of cheddar for a player who has not proven that he can stay healthy and on the field for the last number of years, so even though Trout has been excellent this season, it still wouldn’t be easy for the Angels to move off that money without paying down a significant portion of it.
Again, it’s a moot point, as Trout apparently does not want to go anywhere. But even if he OK’d a trade to another team, the Angels would have to kick in a ton of cash just to make it happen, and then there’s no sure thing that any prospects coming back to Los Angeles would be of the caliber that the rebuilding Angels need.
In the end, look for Trout to stick around Los Angeles for the rest of this season, but perhaps a trade away from the Angels could be revisited this offseason.
Mike Trout’s Future With Angels Revealed