NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
Imagine being labeled the best baseball player in the world but never proving it on the big stage. This is the career of Mike Trout of Los Angeles Angeles. From 2012-2017, Triut put on a display on the diamond. However, the trout-led Angels never amounted to anything.
The Angels tried adding talent around him with Albert Pujols whose career was winding down then protected him with a young newcomer in Shohei Ohtani and yet, Trout still doesn’t have a ring of his own. To make matters worse, one year removed from the Angels, and not his former teammates Ohtani has one for the other Los Angeles team.
Watching his friend leave for the Los Angeles Dodgers had to be demoralizing but to watch him win a World Series in his first year away, had to be heartbreaking. Through it all, Mike Trout has said all the right things regarding his stance with the Angels. Forgot what Trout is saying, the Angles need to do right by him and ship him out so he can have a legit chance at a ring.
Trout has been plagued by injuries for most of his career. He’s a great hitter for contact and power and one of the best defensive outfielders in MLB. But a single player can’t win alone. He needs help and he needs to remain healthy.
The Angels finished last season 63-99, and Trout played in just 29 of those games. While on the field, he batted .220 with 10 home runs and 14 RBIs. If healthy, he’s easily a 40-40 guy but at the age of 32, how many productive years does he have left?
Sometimes, all it takes is a change of scenery for things to go right. At this point in his career, Trout needs one and for the organization, they must begin to think about shedding that huge salary that Trout has on the books and prepare for the future.
The Los Angeles Angels will enter the 2025 season with minimal hopes of being contenders. with that in the know, Mike Trout is still too proud to ask to be traded. But there will come a time when either the player or the organization wants more and will look to part ways. This has to be the year.
Fans of the Philadelphia Phillies have been watching his decline and wondering what it would take to land what many consider a homegrown kid. Trout is making too much money and with his history of injuries, the asking price may be too high for the Phillies to take a chance on.
The New York Yankees are always a possibility and with the way the Dodgers and Mets are throwing money around, they can’t be counted out. But someone has to flinch first. Will it be the Los Angeles Angels or Mike Trout?
