Ridiculous Angels mock trade spotlights the franchise's directionless strategy

The Sporting News' Aaliyah Mohamed predicted that the Angels could trade Mike Trout to the Philadelphia Phillies for a pair of prospects. Before you get all up in arms, understand that there are no rumblings that this is even remotely possible, but the fact that it is suggested shines a light on how inept the team has been in recent years.

The Halos currently hold the longest active playoff drought in Major League Baseball. The team has wasted nearly the entire career of one of the game's all-time best in Trout, and the root of the problem lies in the owner's box. Trading Trout, the face of the franchise and a first-ballot Hall of Famer, after a year where he was severely limited by injuries and his value is at his lowest would be organizational malpractice at the highest level. Getting back two minor-league prospects who aren't even at the top of a mid-tier farm system's rankings would be criminal.

Writers are predicting the Angels could trade Trout because the organization lacks direction

The Angels have done some things well. They've exploited market inefficiencies to build an intriguing young core of players. Yet despite this encouraging development, the rest of the farm system ranks near the bottom of the league indicating that this is yet another half-measure.

Then consider that the Halos have been linked to big bats such as Anthony Santander and Pete Alonso, though more recent rumors have them considering the wholly uninspiring but significantly cheaper option of Alex Verdugo instead, and potentially compounding the mistake by trading the superior Taylor Ward who just settled for a bargain in arbitration.

There are ways to thread the needle between contention and rebuilding. However, the juxtaposition of pursuing big names in the market, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and closer Robert Suarez, combined with the idea of pursuing Verdugo over Santander screams of a franchise suffering an identity crisis. If the Angels truly want to compete while rebuilding, they should do everything in their power to jump on the remaining top free agency who are now likely considering shorter-term, higher AAV contracts in order to compete while also developing and adding to their young nucleus.

Players like Santander and stud starting pitcher Jack Flaherty fit the Halos like a glove, and if they can fill roles while younger players like top prospect Caden Dana come along even better. However, in order to successfully execute this re-tooling strategy, the Angels need to pick a lane and stick to it.

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