So here's the real deal.
Mike Trout hasn't been the same since the Angels released Albert. He's been depressed ever since. He's sitting out in protest. Couple the Pujols release with the emergence of Shohei Ohtani and Trout no longer feels relevant. He sees the Angels as Shohei's team now. Plus he's a new dad and he wants to spend as much time with his son as possible. Plus - the NFL season is just around the corner and he wants to spend more time going to Eagles games. Also - he just turned 30 and he's going through an early version of a mid-life crisis. To top it all off, all his buddies are gone... Richards, Skaggs, Heaney, Calhoun... He's a mess. He may never play baseball again.