Is there any friction between the Halos skipper and their marquee superstar?

With six games left in the regular season, the Angels currently sit with a record of 70-86 — 17.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers.

Boasting arguably the sport’s two best players, there was plenty of optimism heading into the year for the Halos. A revamped pitching staff — along with some young talent — had many thinking LA would contend for the highly competitive A.L. West division.

Unfortunately, the prospects for this season plummeted harder than an anchor careening toward the ocean floor.

The impending free agency for Shohei Ohtani has overshadowed this entire year. No one really knows what he’ll do — though speculation has run rampant over a potential struggle to retain his services (with the Dodgers lurking).

The status of Phil Nevin has also come into play. In October of 2022, he agreed to a 1-year contract extension with the Angels. Since taking over the job midway through last year, Nevin has a collective record of 116-146 (a .443 win percentage).

Per Sam Blum of The Athletic, Mike Trout had some encouraging words to say about Nevin and his status with the club:

“I love Phil, I love playing for Phil. He takes care of his guys. He wants the best for the team. Not being out there, because I know how much he cares about us, it just sucks.”

– Trout on Nevin per Sam Blum of The Athletic

The endorsement from LA’s franchise player is certainly a good thing for Nevin and his future. Whether he stays on another year or not is something to watch for. There’s a school of thought that Nevin deserves at least one more year with the team once the Ohtani situation is stabilized.

On the other hand, LA might want a clean break — where they can either bring in a more established manager, or perhaps a younger, more energetic individual ready to take the reins of a ballclub for the first time.