Mike Trout's latest public criticism of Angels owner Arte Moreno needed to happen

Mike Trout's frustration has seemingly reached a boiling point.

Trout is the Angels' crowned jewel, so Angels owner Arte Moreno, General Manager Perry Minasian, and Trout are no strangers to candid conversations about the state of the team. The difference now? Trout is expressing his exasperation with ownership in public.

The Athletic's Andy McCullough and Sam Blum co-wrote an article retrospectively discussing Mike Trout's career given the chaos surrounding the superstar and his organization's last four seasons. Trout's baseball mortality is becoming readily apparent, and the Angels' failure to foster a winning environment around Trout have persisted past his prime years. Between his injuries and the Angels and Trout's bad on-field product, Trout's becoming awfully more loquacious when discussing Moreno's role in building competitive rosters.

Mike Trout implores Arte Moreno to give the Angels a chance to compete

It's been a long time coming for Trout to talk to reporters like this. Every baseball fans knows Mike Trout's career is being wasted, and they want him to make like Shohei Ohtani and find greener pastures. Trout could easily waive his no-trade clause and demand a trade, but he has been dead-set on spending his entire career with one team à la Mickey Mantle (often cited as Trout's comparison). His professionalism in the face of massive adversity is extremely commendable, but he is changing his tune now.

Trout's recent comments to McCullough and Blum are becoming a trend this year. In March, Trout off-handedly told Jon Heyman of the New York Post that he implored Moreno to sign free agents position players with pop. “He specifically mentioned ‘Hey, there are guys out there with 30 home runs,'" Heyman said. "Well, that had to be J.D. Martinez. So you know who he wants for the Angels." Whether it was a non-competitive contract offer, or the reality of playing for a non-competitive team, Moreno and Minasian were unable to secure Martinez's services. For that matter, they did not bring in any position player of significance via trade or free agency.

When fans make their list of the worst MLB owners, they refer to John Fisher, Jerry Reinsdorf, the Monfort brothers, and Arte Moreno. Moreno constantly meddles with his chosen GM's transactions, presides over a team with numerous scandals, neglects his Minor League operations, falls behind the times when it comes to modern day front office technology and data integrations, and finances big-name players but does not provide enough to fill out deep rosters. The idea of Moreno selling the team before the 2023 season could have been a huge turning point for Trout, Ohtani, and the Angels. Alas, Moreno unfortunately decided to hold onto the franchise.

Angels fans will never forgive Moreno for how he squandered prime years of Trout and Ohtani and MLB fans will never stop making fun of the franchise. If the Detroit Tigers reach the postseason, the Angels will stand alone as the organization with the longest current playoff drought in MLB, and the third longest in North American sports (trailing the New York Jets and Buffalo Sabres).