If the Mike Trout injury is serious, the Angels must trade Shohei Ohtani

Last night was one of, if not the most frustrating losses of the entire season for the Los Angeles Angels. This says a lot considering all of the bullpen meltdowns and defensive miscues we've seen from this team which has cost them games.

The Angels went a whopping 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position. They went 1-for-11 in the first five innings. They had two men on in each of the first six innings of the game, yet managed to score only three runs. A David Fletcher miscue cost the Angels three early runs, Jaime Barria didn't pitch great, and the bullpen failed to keep the game close.

All of that was super frustrating, but the worst part of all was watching Mike Trout leave the game after fouling a pitch off. Trout hadn't been at his best this season, but he had stayed healthy. If the Angels have to go any sort of substantial time without their superstar, their postseason dreams might officially be destroyed.

LA Angels must trade Shohei Ohtani if Mike Trout has to miss substantial time

The Angels are currently 45-42 as we enter play on Independence Day. They're six games out in the AL West and three games back of the third and final Wild Card spot in the AL. The Angels are already at a disadvantage as the team trailing those currently in a postseason spot, and having a very tough schedule in July and August. Losing Trout is something this team really can't afford.

The injuries keep piling on for this Angels group. Zach Neto, Gio Urshela, Logan O'Hoppe, and Brandon Drury were already on the IL, and it certainly feels possible that Trout will be joining them. It's very hard to win games without five starters on the field. We've seen this offense struggle to score already, it'll be a whole lot harder if they have to try and function without Trout.

With Shohei Ohtani in the final year of his contract, the question of what the Angels were going to do with him remained prevalent all season. The Angels have consistently said that as long as they're in the race for a postseason spot, he's not going anywhere. If Trout has to miss substantial time, this point of view must change.

There is no point in risking losing Shohei Ohtani for nothing, especially if you have to go weeks or months without Trout. If all that has to happen is he has to miss a couple of games or he's out the minimum of ten days, fine, don't come to any rash conclusion. If Trout is out for a long time, The risk of holding onto Shohei just isn't worth it.

The way Trout was talking about the injury makes me feel like this isn't just some minor wrist pain. He's concerned, and so am I.

For now, let's just hope for the best with Trout. A minor injury is something the Angels might be able to recover from. They're in the hunt right now, and shouldn't be completely out of it if Trout has to miss a week or so. Anything more than that should have Perry Minasian seriously considering trading Ohtani before risking him walking for nothing.