3 reasons why an offseason Mike Trout trade makes no sense for the Angels

2) Mike Trout has too many question marks for a team to make a worthwhile offer to the LA Angels

Let's get this out of the way. When healthy, Mike Trout is still among the best players in baseball. In 2022 he hit 40 home runs in just 119 games. He finished eighth in the AL MVP balloting and was an all-star while also taking home a Silver Slugger Award.

This past season hasn't been quite as good as we're accustomed to, but Trout still has a 133 WRC+ and was at around a 40-homer pace had he played a full season. He was named an all-star for a reason. He's still quite good. He's a great player, but it'd be naive to discount all of the question marks he has.

First, Trout has been incapable of staying on the field. He has played just 82 games this season, and has reached the 100-game mark just once over the last four seasons. He hasn't topped the 140-game mark since 2016. That is a problem. The best ability is availability, and the Angels or whoever would acquire him simply cannot count on that. Trout is 32 right now and is only getting older. That usually means more time on the IL, not less.

Second, the production has taken a hit. Trout is enduring the worst full season of his career. A 133 WRC+ is still quite good, but Trout's lowest mark in a full season was 167. There's a huge difference there. Again, with age, this figures to only decline.

Trout has had glaring issues catching up to high-velocity fastballs even when you knew they were coming. His strikeout rate is as high as it's ever been at 28.7% and he's in the 14th percentile in that category.

He hasn't been available, and this season he was showing some decline. He's still a great player, but with seven more years left on his deal and all of the injury concerns what realistically will teams offer?