Angels have much more to worry about than Mike Trout's "decline"

Mike Trout has not had the best season ever, and neither have the Angels (obviously). Trout missed a month from injury, but his performance in the second half of the season highlighted by a month long home run drought had a lot of fans worried that the greatest Angels player of all time was truly heading towards the twilight of his career. And apparently, there are people inside of the Angels' organization who share that concern.

Sam Blum of The Athletic noted in a feature about Trout that there are concerns among Angels employees that Trout's long-term value may be diminishing. Trout is signed through the 2030 season at an average annual value of $37.1 million, one of the highest numbers in all of baseball. And sure, Trout has not performed up to that contract following his MVP campaign in 2019, but for the Angels to be worried about his value is a gross misalignment of their worries.

Angels have much more to worry about than Mike Trout's "decline"

Injuries, home run drought, and lack of availability on defense aside, Mike Trout turned in a perfectly fine offensive season, posting a 115 OPS+. And despite the dip in power, advanced stats show that Trout is not nearing the end offensively and the drought may have simply been a fluke. And with his contract, there are a few other contracts on the Angels' books that the organization should be worried about.

Anthony Rendon's final season is hamstringing the Angels' ability to target the top of the market in free agency. Jorge Soler's deal has turned in to a net negative contract for 2026, while they team is paying Robert Stephenson $11 million next season despite him pitching just two games for the Angels since he signed on prior to the 2024 season.

And looking past poor financial decisions, the Angels have concerns across the diamond. The highlights of their rotation are Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano, who both own ERA's north of four and are more mid-rotation arms than aces at the moment. They have no clear options for above-average play at catcher, third base, and shortstop inside of their organization. They have three great outfielders in Trout, Taylor Ward, and Jo Adell - but none of them can be relied on to play even average defense in center field. And, at the moment, the only reliever they can rely on for good production next year is Brock Burke as Kenley Jansen and Reid Detmers are both question marks due to their respective pending free agency and injury scare.

Sure, Mike Trout will likely never win MVP again. He may never play north of 140 games again. But for the Angels to admit they are worried about his decline when they have issues all throughout their organization is a mismanagement of their worries. Trout is not hindering the city of Anaheim from seeing a World Series parade again - the Angels are.

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