It’s time for Mike Trout to leave Los Angeles.
Seriously, what is he still doing there?
Since arriving on the scene as a stud 19-year-old top prospect for the Los Angeles Angels in 2011, Mike Trout has been the best player in baseball.
No one had ever done what Trout did by his 28th birthday.
- He won the AL MVP three times.
- He finished runner-up an additional four times.
- He went to eight straight All Star Games.
- He won Rookie of the Year.
- He took home eight Silver Slugger Awards.
Before he turned 30 years old, he was a surefire, no doubt, future Hall of Famer. Had he never played another game, he would have been enshrined among the game’s immortals.
In recent seasons, injuries have taken a bite out of Trout’s productivity. He played in just 36 games in 2021, 119 in ‘22, and only 82 a year ago. Now 32 years old, some believed that perhaps Trout’s days as an elite player were behind him.
This season, a healthy Trout is once again dominating the league, with a league-high 10 home runs and an .867 OPS. His batting average is a bit low, but the power has returned, and he remains a very good base runner and defensive center fielder. He will almost certainly be voted into his 12th All Star Game appearance in July, and is back to being the elite talent he was a few seasons ago.
However, the Millville, NJ native and noted Eagles maniac is once again stuck on an Angels squad that is going nowhere. Sure, they beat the Phillies on Monday night, but even after that victory they are just 11-18 on the season. There are only a couple other players – Jo Adell, Taylor Ward and former Phillies prospect Logan O’Hoppe – to get excited about, with no pitching to speak of whatsoever.
During the off-season, Trout lost Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers in free agency. Trout urged his owner Arte Moreno to add some pieces to the lineup late in the off-season. Moreno and the Angels did nothing. Now, Trout is stuck on another moribund team destined to once again miss the postseason.
It seems impossible Trout is OK with this, and it seems inconceivable that he won’t want to get out of LA at some point soon.
He has played in 1,518 career regular season baseball games.
He has played in 3… THREE… career playoff games. All of them losses.
On the latest Hittin’ Season podcast, we discussed Trout’s future and the prospects of him ditching the Angels this season.
I don’t know if Trout will ever come home to Philadelphia to play for his hometown Phillies. It’s more likely than not he won’t. He sure would look a lot better in right field than some other players I won’t mention, but if he does leave, Philly is an unlikely landing spot.
That being said, if Trout wants to get another crack at a title, he cannot stay in Los Angeles. He has to leave.
And I think he will.
