Mike Trout laughs off trade talk, says he "loves it here"

[KevinJ14]

ANAHEIM -- As the losses have piled up and the injuries have mounted, the radical idea of trading Mike Trout has quickly gained momentum outside of Angel Stadium.

ESPN and FanGraphs floated the idea recently, shortly after it was revealed that the Angels' best starting pitcher, Garrett Richards, may be lost for the next 12 to 18 months with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. And in the days that followed, the thought of trading Trout has become a major talking point throughout the country, on television, in print and through social media.

"I've seen it," Trout said on Wednesday. "I just laugh about it. I love where I'm at. I love Anaheim, the stadium, the organization, and obviously the teammates. Teams go through injuries. That's the way it is."

Trout, 24, is signed through 2020, his age-28 season, and holds a full no-trade clause on a contract extension that pays him $15.25 million this year, $19.25 million next year, and $33.25 million each of the following three years.

The Angels have the consensus weakest farm system in the game and a top-heavy payroll that is close to maxing out. They also have to be cautious with three crucial young pitchers in Richards (set to undergo Tommy John surgery), Andrew Heaney(hoping to avoid Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Skaggs (coming off Tommy John surgery).

MLB Now: Digging In

The crew on MLB Now debate if the Angels should trade Mike Trout and dig into his career historic numbers

Some believe trading Trout, and receiving a historically lucrative package of up-and-coming prospects and controllable Major Leaguers, would be the best and quickest way for the Angels to steer themselves in the right direction. Others consider it blasphemous to even consider the idea of trading a once-in-a-generation player that young and locked up for that long.

Asked about it in Spring Training, Angels owner Arte Moreno said: "100 percent we are not trading Mike Trout. We're not trading Mike Trout. It's not even in the thought process."

Asked about it on Friday, Angels general manager Billy Eppler said: "No chance. … You do not move superstar players."

The Angels currently have seven players out of action because of injury, including four starting pitchers, a shortstop in Andrelton Simmons, a closer in Huston Street and a part-time left fielder in Craig Gentry. They don't have the farm system to pull off a major trade, their budget is too close to the luxury-tax threshold to take on much salary, and the upcoming free-agent class seems uninspiring.

But Trout expressed confidence that the Angels would remain competitive over the life of his contract.

"We're going to keep playing to try to win," he said. "It doesn't matter what other people say. Our mentality in this clubhouse is to win ballgames with the group of guys that we have. Obviously we don't have the full team that we wanted down in spring, but that's the way it goes."

Alden Gonzalez has covered the Angels for MLB.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @Alden_Gonzalez and Facebook , and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

http://m.angels.mlb.com/news/article/177600296/mike-trout-angels-laugh-off-trade-speculation

 

[zenmaster]

Yeah I'm getting sick of listening to the talking heads on ESPN radio and the like discussing this. Listening this morning they were going through trade scenarios endlessly. Pretty much everyone agreed you don't trade a generational player of his caliber. 

 

They even mentioned they wouldn't do it even if someone took on Pujols and his contract and got major league talent + top minor league talent. They kept saying to the Cubs for Schwarber (if not hurt), Kris Bryant, another Major league starter and top minor league pitching talent. I'd never pull the trigger on trading him.

[RallyPanda]

33 minutes ago, zenmaster said:

Yeah I'm getting sick of listening to the talking heads on ESPN radio and the like discussing this. Listening this morning they were going through trade scenarios endlessly. Pretty much everyone agreed you don't trade a generational player of his caliber. 

 

They even mentioned they wouldn't do it even if someone took on Pujols and his contract and got major league talent + top minor league talent. They kept saying to the Cubs for Schwarber (if not hurt), Kris Bryant, another Major league starter and top minor league pitching talent. I'd never pull the trigger on trading him.

That deal with the Cubs sounds good to me.

[nando714]

The fact he has to comment on it now is making it worse imo

[Jay]

I'm glad Trout is happy with his $15 million salary.

 

[Angelsjunky]

In other words, he's glad to be able to play a game for a living, be the best player in baseball and a deca-millionaire at 24 years old. Life is good.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Angelsjunky

[Angelsjunky]

They'd lose a lot of fans and sell less tickets, but if the players they got helped improve the club overall, they'd eventually be forgiven.

[GrittyVeterans]

Winning cures all. Having the best player in baseball is awesome, but the stadium is still mostly empty every night these days since we're garbage. I'm not saying we should trade him btw

 

I

[OCAngelsNotLAA]

If we are still awful with 2 years left on his deal I wouldn't be opposed to trading him.  We could get some key pieces for him and then sign Trout again when his deal is up. He could come home to an angels team that is in a way better position than when he left...  I would hope the GM would work all this out with trout before even talking to other GMs about trading him. 

[Troll Daddy]

Trout is the kind of player every owner dreams about .... but winning trumps everything. 

[Taylor]

2 hours ago, KevinJ14 said:

"I've seen it," Trout said on Wednesday. "I just laugh about it. I love where I'm at. I love Anaheim, the stadium, the organization, and obviously the teammates. Teams go through injuries. That's the way it is."

He didn't say he loves the fans. What did we do to offend him?

In all seriousness, what a classy response by Trout. One of his most underrated qualities is his all-around good nature and modesty. You never hear him brag or imply that he's better than anyone else.

[Homebrewer]

Mike Trout laughs off trade talk, says he "loves it here"       

I have been a baseball fan for many, many, years, and usually this kind of statement can be translated to mean exactly the opposite in reality.

When GM's, managers, owners, agents, and players say stuff like this....it usually means the wheels are turning, or something is already in the works. 

I've seen it happen too many times to take anyone at their word when it comes to player transactions.

 

 

[Angel Oracle]

This one made me throw up a little in my mouth.

http://nesn.com/2016/05/if-angels-decided-to-trade-mike-trout-could-red-sox-make-run-at-outfielder/

[Pujols4MVP]

A team would have to offer their WHOLE FARM SYSTEM(Like all 50 of their prospects), take Pujols, send several quality players from their roster for me to be ok with them even thinking about possibly considering it & even then the answer will always be NO.

[Blarg]

3 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

They'd lose a lot of fans and sell less tickets, but if the players they got helped improve the club overall, they'd eventually be forgiven.

Just like Boston forgave the ownership for trading Ruth.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Blarg

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, Scioscia4MVP said:

Who keeps hijacking my account, uploading a profile photo & changed my profile's gender to female ?

Totally unprofessional if thats a Moderator or Admin doing it.

Haha.  

[Guest]

I love this dude.

[Angelsjunky]

46 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Just like Boston forgave the ownership for trading Ruth.

East coasters, Blarg.

[LAA Road Tripper]

Smart move by Trout whether he means it or not. Say this and then shut up. 

[GalericX]

11 hours ago, zenmaster said:

Yeah I'm getting sick of listening to the talking heads on ESPN radio and the like discussing this. Listening this morning they were going through trade scenarios endlessly. Pretty much everyone agreed you don't trade a generational player of his caliber. 

 

They even mentioned they wouldn't do it even if someone took on Pujols and his contract and got major league talent + top minor league talent. They kept saying to the Cubs for Schwarber (if not hurt), Kris Bryant, another Major league starter and top minor league pitching talent. I'd never pull the trigger on trading him.

There is the problem.. you are listening to ESPN, get MLB Radio, much much better, and they do not constantly talk about east coast teams.  They do talk about the Mets and Cubs allot, but at least its not Boston and New York.

[Lou]

10 hours ago, OCAngelsNotLAA said:

If we are still awful with 2 years left on his deal I wouldn't be opposed to trading him.  We could get some key pieces for him and then sign Trout again when his deal is up. He could come home to an angels team that is in a way better position than when he left...  I would hope the GM would work all this out with trout before even talking to other GMs about trading him. 

Mostly empty?

[Lou]

11 hours ago, Jay said:

I'm glad Trout is happy with his $15 million salary.

 

$16 million

$20 million next year. $34 million the year after 

[fighterpilot562]

If we don't get good by the time he is close to being a FA, I can see him leaving, and won't blame him for it. He wants to win, and so far, the Angels aren't providing that for him.

Though, I can see a trade on the last year on his contract to get something for him.

 

Hopefully we can turn it around by then and we don't have to worry.

[Slegnaac]

4 minutes ago, Lou said:

$16 million

$20 million next year. $34 million the year after 

But after taxes, paying his agent, union dues, etc.., what is he really getting?

[Lou]

23 minutes ago, Slegnaac said:

But after taxes, paying his agent, union dues, etc.., what is he really getting?

rich 

er