LA insider’s call for Zach Neto extension comes with a truly brutal realization

The Los Angeles Angels have a budding star player in shortstop Zach Neto. Some have called for Neto to get an extension, but the young player understands something brutal about Mike Trout's future.

In a recent Los Angeles Times column advocating for the Angels to extend Neto, the shortstop was honest about Trout, saying, "We need to help Mike — and we all pointed at Mike — get to the postseason. He is, if not the greatest player to play this game, one of them. He needs to be in the playoffs.”

Neto knows Angels have limited time to get Trout to playoffs

It is a noble sentiment from Neto and shows just how much respect and admiration he has for the face of the franchise, who has remained loyal to the Angels even though the team has been headed in the wrong direction for some time.

With Trout's decline and the current state of the team, it is difficult to see a path that would get the Angels back to the playoffs in the foreseeable future. Trout slashed .232/.359/.439 with 26 home runs and 64 runs batted in. It was an improvement over his 2024 numbers, but still a far cry from where he was at his peak.

Neto is a solid young player to build around, so it would make sense to extend him, but the Angels do not exactly seem to be in a spending mood right now. He slashed .257/.319/.474 with 26 homers and 62 runs batted in, so he put up somewhat similar power numbers to Trout.

The Angels did reject some trade advances from the Boston Red Sox, so that does suggest they are looking to keep him around and aren't looking to cut bait. Maybe that will change if a team makes an offer that Los Angeles can't refuse, but the Angels have to think about securing a future face of the franchise to have when Trout decides to retire.

Angels fans also have to prepare themselves for that passing of the torch moment when Trout departs, or declines, and Neto becomes the guy for the Angels. That will be a sad day, but it is inevitable.

Maybe the Angels can have a miraculous season before Trout's time with the team is done. While they squandered the year when he and Shohei Ohtani were together, maybe they can catch lightning in a bottle and get the future Hall of Famer one more taste of the postseason.