5 teams who should be willing to absorb Mike Trout's contract in a trade

The Los Angeles Angels moving on from Mike Trout this offseason feels extremely unlikely unless Trout demands a trade. That's the way it should be. A Trout trade is simply too complicated, even if it sounds compelling to start completely over.

Forget the fact that the Angels would want actual value back in return for Trout who, despite his inability to stay healthy and slight decline in production this season, is still one of the best players in baseball.

Dumping the seven years Trout has remaining on his deal at $35.45 million annually is the hardest part. The Angels won't want to be paying Trout to play against them, so that knocks out most of the teams in the league instantly. This group of teams could use another outfielder and have the money on the books to spend.

1) The Philadelphia Phillies should be willing to absorb Mike Trout's contract

The Phillies are the team Trout would presumably want to go to, and they're in a position where they seem to always spend a ton of money. Despite making it all the way to the World Series last season, the Phillies were still among the biggest spenders of the offseason, inking the likes of Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker, and Craig Kimbrel to free agent contracts.

The Phillies don't have a desperate need for a player like Trout with how deep their lineup is, but it's not like they had to sign Trea Turner either. Assuming nobody on their MLB team goes to the Angels in return, the Phillies will have the chance to run with an outfield of Brandon Marsh, Mike Trout, and Nick Castellanos with rookie standout Johan Rojas as the team's fourth outfielder. That'd be hard to top.

Bryce Harper has settled in nicely at first base, and Kyle Schwarber should be the DH at all times. The Phillies can absolutely squeeze Trout in, and if the future Hall of Famer wants to go there, it'd be hard to imagine John Middleton turning him down when he's been so aggressive financially.