Trading Mike Trout and 3 other future LA Angels roster moves to shoot down

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Should the Los Angeles Angels re-sign Shohei Ohtani on record-breaking money despite his pitching concerns? Should the Angels DFA Anthony Rendon? Should the Angels completely tear the team down and rebuild? Fans often discuss what their favorite team should do, but why not discuss moves they should not make?

There are many moves the Angels should not make this offseason including one very obvious one.

1) LA Angels trading Mike Trout would be a mistake for multiple reasons

This is the obvious one. No, the Angels should not trade Mike Trout under any circumstances unless he demands it himself. If Trout doesn't say he wants out, he should be in an Angels uniform on Opening Day 2024. There are multiple reasons why.

First, this is the best player in the history of this franchise. You really want to part ways with him? Something has to be said about how difficult it'd be to watch Trout not only wear another uniform, but potentially win the World Series with another team. Obviously we'd be happy for Trout, but I don't think I'm alone in wanting this guy to finish his career having worn just one uniform. If that's not enough, understandably so, there're baseball reasons as to why this should not happen.

Trout signed an absurd contract to remain an Angel for virtually the rest of his career. He still has roughly seven years remaining on the deal worth $250 million. He's making $35.4 million annually until this contract expires following the 2030 season. That alone eliminates most of the league in terms of teams who'd take his contract.

Now, if the Angels did entertain moving Trout, what exactly could they get? This is a guy who has played 100 games just once in the last four seasons. He hasn't reached the 150-game mark since the 2016 season. Furthermore, when he did play this season, he was in the midst of by far his worst season in his career even with him still being very good.

Trout is 32, hasn't played a fully healthy season in seven years, is being paid a ton of money, and is in decline performance-wise. How attractive is he realistically to other teams? Sure, the Angels can pay off some of his salary to maximize his return, but even then, it's hard to see them getting this monster haul to help kickstart a rebuild without the Angels eating over half of the contract which isn't very realistic under Arte Moreno.

If Trout demands a trade this is a whole other story, but with all of the factors here I don't see how a Trout trade makes any sense.

2) LA Angels shouldn't spend nine figures on any free agent not named Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani is a player the Angels should do whatever it takes to keep. He's by far the best player in baseball, and even if he never throws another pitch again he's still one of, if not the best overall hitter in the game. To me, Ohtani is a no-brainer to keep. He's also the only free agent they should be giving a nine-figure deal to.

The Angels have an awful history of signing free agents to mega-deals. Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Anthony Rendon, I can go on but won't. These deals sound good at the time and wind up being good when the team wins something, but if the team doesn't win in the first couple of years, the contract winds up being awful when the player declines.

If the Angels were to spend a boatload of money on any free agent, it should be a pitcher. The team has lacked any sort of frontline starter other than Ohtani, and whether Ohtani stays or goes, it's unlikely he'll pitch next season. The problem is, there isn't really anyone the Angels should be paying.

Aaron Nola has had a miserable year for the Phillies. Julio Urias has had a down year and doesn't have a great track record health-wise. Blake Snell has been great but had an up-and-down couple of years before this one. Yoshinobo Yamamoto would be very fun, especially if Shohei Ohtani stays, but he's a complete unknown at this point. Other options include guys like Clayton Kershaw, Sonny Gray, Eduardo Rodriguez, Marcus Stroman, and Jordan Montgomery who I don't know approach nine figures.

The perfect fit just doesn't seem to be there for the Angels to be going all out on the market. Signing Aaron Nola won't win them a World Series in 2024. There's a lot more work that has to be done.

3) LA Angels shouldn't trade Reid Detmers or Patrick Sandoval for prospects

I get why fans would want both Reid Detmers and Patrick Sandoval to be traded. They've both had disappointing seasons and have shown virtually no growth. Detmers seems to never put two good starts together in a row outside of one good stretch this season, while Sandoval can't ever get out of his own way and avoid the big inning.

The reason these guys shouldn't be moved is what exactly are you trading them for. Prospects? Guys who will develop in this same system who you have no idea will be as good or better than either one of these southpaws?

The bottom line here is Sandoval is 26 and Detmers is 24. They've both shown that they're capable of being good pitchers in this league, they just haven't put it all together yet. Put them in front of a new coaching staff and see what happens. The stuff is good, and you have them under team control for multiple years.

With the Angels farm as decimated as it is, trading away two pitchers you know have the capability of being quite good for some lottery tickets doesn't seem wise.

What should be noted is if the Angels can include a guy like Detmers in a deal for a proven young-ish frontline starter, I'm all ears. Those aren't nearly as big of risks as trading for prospects.

LA Angels relying on Anthony Rendon to do anything in 2024 and beyond would be foolish

The Anthony Rendon contract has been a disaster for the Angels, that goes without being said. With Stephen Strasburg now retired, there's a good chance he has the worst contract in the majors.

Since the 2020 season he hasn't played more than 58 games in a single season, and when he is actually on the field he's been an average to below-average player. He's been a nightmare with the media and is a player most of the fans want gone.

I personally don't know what the right move with Rendon is. Releasing him opens the possibility of him performing well for another team on the Angels dime. Keeping him around seems to accomplish nothing as the guy hasn't even played in a third of the team's games in each of the last two years.

What I do know is expecting anything from Rendon at this point is foolish. The Angels can't really afford to be paying a big-time third baseman like Matt Chapman a bunch of money this offseason, but they also need to bring in a real alternative for if/when Rendon lands on the IL.

Gio Urshela filled the Anthony Rendon reserve role nicely before his season-ending injury. Bringing him back for another year or two doesn't sound bad, or trying to find someone else makes sense too. Just don't rely on the Matt Duffy's or Jack Mayfield's of the world, please.

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