Anthony Rendon buyout may have set precedent for Angels’ strategy with Mike Trout

The Los Angeles Angels made a long overdue decision to restructure Anthony Rendon's contract which effectively ended his tumultuous tenure with the Angels. However, the Angels handling of Rendon's buyout could also open the door to LA pursuing a similar path with Mike Trout.

The Rendon saga was embarrassing for the Angels and very frustrating for fans after he barely played following the ink drying on his seven-year $245 million deal with Los Angeles. His best season was the 2020 pandemic-shortened season, but he did not play more than 58 games in a season after that. In short, it was a disaster and Rendon will forever be a punch line among Angels fans.

While Rendon is one one end of the spectrum of popularity with Angels fans, at the polar opposite of that spectrum is Mike Trout. Even though he has dealt with countless injuries in recent seasons and has declined at the plate, he is still beloved by Angels fans for everything he did earlier in his career.

Still, he is going to be owed $37 million every season until 2030 when his contract expires. That salary is not commensurate with a player who slashed .232/.358/.439 last season.

Anthony Rendon saga may give Angels a way out of Mike Trout's contract

Despite the struggles, Trout is still a draw for Angels fans and is the most recognizable player on the team. That is certainly worth something, but how much longer can the Angels bank on the drawability of a Hall of Fame player on the decline in his final years who can't stay healthy?

The Angels will likely need an exit strategy at some point. They cannot be content to just sink nearly $40 million a year on Trout when surely that money could be invested elsewhere to improve the roster in other ways (assuming Arte Moreno doesn't just keep the money in his pocket). Obviously, the front office would have to be delicate in how it would handle a restructuring. This is not like the Rendon situation in which both sides want to move on.

If there was a sense that the Angels were trying to push Trout out the door, there would be a backlash from the fanbase. The front office has to take that into account while at the same time trying to do what is best for the team. Trout has earned the right to turn things around. While 2025 paled in comparison to his peak productivity, it was an improvement over 2024.

Maybe he has a late-career renaissance and any chatter about restructuring his deal will look silly. But it would be unlikely for Trout to become his old self in the next few seasons, so the Angels have to keep every avenue open especially after the Rendon fiasco.