The Angels' Mike Trout is getting alluded to after the Luka Doncic to Lakers trade

For better or worse, fans are mentioning Trout's name as an MLB equivalent of the Doncic for Davis trade

TGL presented by SoFi: JUP v BOS
TGL presented by SoFi: JUP v BOS | Carmen Mandato/TGL/GettyImages

Many baseball fans were taken aback following the groundbreaking, unprecedented NBA trade that broke late on a Saturday night. A bona fide superstar in Luka Dončić was part of a three-team trade package that was shipped from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis and additional assets. People around MLB needed help grasping what this meant. For better or worse, Mike Trout's name was raised many times in an attempt to help players and fans understand the gravity of this transaction.

The NBA world is largely laudatory of the Lakers when discussing who won the trade. The Mavericks, in theory, punted on a generational talent in exchange for a 32-year-old big man with a litany of injury concerns. When making comparisons to baseball, Mike Trout's name is being thrown out there as a reference point as both the hypothetical Luka Dončić and as the Anthony Davis. Peak Mike Trout is the Doncic, Trout from, say, 2022 is the Anthony Davis.

Dončić is not a bad NBA comparison for prime Mike Trout, as he has made five first team All-NBA awards, won rookie of the year, and finished top-8 in MVP voting five times before his age-25 season this year. Before Trout turned 25-years-old, he had already racked up five silver slugger awards, five All Star appearances, a rookie of the year award, two MVPs, and finished top two in the American League MVP race five times.

In 2022, Trout played 119 games, won a silver slugger award, and finished eighth in the AL MVP race. That 2022 version of Trout is a solid comparison to modern day Anthony Davis. Trout did not play as many games as fans wanted, but he was effective when on the field. Davis, when healthy and on the court, is one of the best players in the NBA. The issue is he is not the most trustworthy player to stay available, despite playing 76 games out of a potential 82 last season. Trout and Davis are both in their 30s, and it feels like every minor nick they sustain could cause either to go down for longer than it ought to. Trout is slightly older than Davis but has been far less healthy the past few years.

Much like Davis and Dončić, Trout will attempt to silence the critics this year. The Angels will do their best to load manage Trout next season, and try to save him from himself to an extent. Whether he plays more corner outfield or receive more days off, the Angels need their superstar on the field from late-March to October (ideally). Trout will not be going anywhere anytime soon, and certainly was not going to get traded when he was in his prime. Mavericks fans wish they could have said the same about Dončić.

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