Even when taking into account injuries, the Los Angeles Angels have enjoyed parts of six seasons with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout anchoring their lineup as one of the best duos in the sport but only marginal success to show for it.
Trout once was at the forefront of the conversation for best player in baseball, which since has become a title bestowed to Ohtani. The two-way superstar added to a growing list of accolades as the first player in MLB history to unanimously win two MVP Awards.
Ohtani now is dominating free agency as the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and several other teams hope to lure him out of Anaheim.
According to Héctor Gómez, the Dodgers also intend to pursue a Trout trade by offering some of their top prospects:
SOURCE: The #Dodgers will be very aggressive looking to sign the two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and get the 11-time All-Star center fielder Mike Trout via trade. They are willing to give up their best prospects in exchange for landing Trout.@z101digital
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) November 18, 2023
The notion that Angels owner Arte Moreno would be willing to trade Trout, much less to the Dodgers, is difficult to envision. Moreno reportedly grew frustrated with the delay for a trade to acquire Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling in 2020, and therefore backed out of negotiations.
There also were conflicting reports at the 2023 trade deadline as to not only whether or not Ohtani was truly available, but also with how open Moreno may or may not have been in working with the Dodgers on a deal.
Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5 million extension in March 2019 that was both the richest contract in MLB. It also was the largest contract in North American Sports history, but that since has been exceeded in the NFL with Patrick Mahomes signing a 10-year, $450 million contract in 2020.
Both numbers could easily be shattered when Ohtani signs his contract, unless he elects to initially go with a short-term deal to re-establish value as a pitcher in the coming years.
Trout is under contract through the 2030 season, when he will be 38 years old.
Who would Dodgers trade for Mike Trout?
If the Angels were willing to entertain trading Trout, the Dodgers presumably would need to part with some combination of prospects in Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Nick Frasso, Gavin Stone, Ryan Pepiot, Michael Busch, Miguel Vargas, James Outman, Dalton Rushing, Diego Cartaya, Kendall George, and potentially additional players from their Major League roster as well.
Further complicating the Dodgers potentially completing a deal is not only his contract and their financial commitments to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and possibly Ohtani, but also Trout holding a full no-trade clause.
Trout conceivably would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Dodgers, but it’s a minor obstacle nonetheless.
