For years, we've been wondering if Mike Trout is tired of losing.
In fact, I'll start again: he's clearly tired of losing. But is he so serious as to request a trade from the Angels?
For several years, we understood that he was attached to the Angels. We understood that he wanted to stay with Shohei Ohtani.
But this winter, Ohtani left for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Could this event encourage Trout, who is not getting any younger and who plays with a bad club, to request a trade?
The question was asked to Trout, on the sidelines of the start of camp, and the main person concerned was quite clear: no, he does not want to leave the Angels.
If he signed in Anaheim, it was to stay in Anaheim. And that’s to win in Anaheim.
He says that asking for a trade would be “too easy” and he doesn’t want to do that. Instead, he wants his club to improve.
So he asked his GM and his owner to sign one of the big remaining free agents.
The feeling I have, though, is that he might indeed be open to the idea of leaving one day, if nothing changes in California.
He might “change his mind” in the future, he said.
The feeling I have? If the Angels keep losing and he sees Ohtani make the playoffs in Los Angeles, he's going to end up asking to be traded.
You will agree with me that this is a likely scenario. After all, the Angels lost Ohtani and they haven't made the playoffs since 2014.
I have the impression that going to play in Philadelphia, in his neck of the woods, could become a realistic option one day. He wouldn't refuse to win there, in my opinion.
And I don't blame him.
- Justin Turner doesn't understand why several free agents are not yet signed.
- The Nationals are no longer for sale.
- Walker Buehler is no closer to a return.
