− Los Angeles Angels All-Star center fielder Mike Trout walked to his locker, looked around, saw just a handful of reporters, and laughed.
“Ohtani must be gone,” he said.
Indeed, Shohei Ohtani and the huge following of media are across town at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring-training complex, But while Trout sounded resigned to the idea that Ohtani would leave all along, he wasn’t resentful, or envious.
Trout said Monday morning he still wants to stay with the Angels, but opened the door to changing his mind in the future.
“I think the easy way out right now is to ask for a trade,” Trout said. “There might be a time, maybe. I really haven’t thought about this. But when I signed my contract, I’m loyal. I want to win a championship here. …
“I think the overall picture of winning a championship or getting to the playoffs here is a bigger satisfaction than bailing out and just taking the easy way out. So that’s my mindset. Maybe down the road if something changes. But that’s been my mindset ever since the trade speculation came up.”
Trout, who signed a $360 million extension in 2019, has a complete no-trade clause. If he wanted out, the Angels would let teams know, but they never engaged in a single trade discussion. Trout, 32, won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2030 season.
While he could change his mind, there’s no certain criteria, he said, that would necessarily lead him to formally requesting a trade.
“I mean, I can’t predict the future” Trout said. “Like I said, that’s been my mindset. I think the overall build of not getting to the playoffs, and I think finally when that happens, that’s bigger than if I just wanted to get out of here.
“The overall relationship with everybody in this clubhouse, in this organization is great, but if things change, and people feel a different way, then then we’ll go from there.”
The Angels’ prospects of reaching the postseason certainly took a hit with the defection of Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Angels were given the chance to match the Dodgers’ 10-year, $700 million contract, but passed, with Angels owner Arte Moreno not wanting to take on the $680 million in deferrals. The sense among Angels’ officials is that if the Angels had matched the offer, Ohtani would have returned.
“I kind of had a pretty good idea, my gut feeling it was going to be the Dodgers,” Trout said. “I’m just happy for him. Obviously, I wanted him to come back. He got what he deserves.”
Now, Trout is trying to persaude Moreno and president John Carpino to spend the money they didn’t use on Ohtani to improve the ballclub and make them a contender again after eight consecutive losing seasons.
Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Texas Rangers postseason hero Jordan Montgomery are still available, along with former MVP Cody Bellinger and Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman.
“There’s still some guys out there that can make this team a lot better,’’ Trout said. “I’m going to be pushing as long as I can, unless the season starts or until those guys sign. It’s just in my nature. I’m going to do everything I can possible. It’s obviously Arte’s decision but I’m going to put my two cents in there.’’
Trout says he doesn’t know if Moreno will budge, with no talks in recent weeks between agent Scott Boras and the Angels, he says Moreno can’t be accused of being cheap.
“If you look over the past few years,’’ Trout said, “Arte’s spent money …There are a few guys that I’ve talked that want to be here for sure. I’m competitive. The guys out there are great players and great people.
“It would be foolish to say I don’t want them to come here. This offseason, I was in contact with both of them, just pushing, pushing, pushing. There’s still some guys out there that can make this team a lot better.”
Trout shared his ideas with new Angels manager Ron Washington, third base coach Eric Young and first base coach Bo Porter over the winter. They visited Trout’s New Jersey home over the winter, spent three hours with him and listened to his thoughts of improving the club.
“We let Mike talk,” Washington told USA TODAY Sports. “We let Mike tell us what he thinks needs to be changed. What he thinks is the reason why things have been stagnant around here. I never infused anything what I wanted, EY or Bo, we just listened to Mike. I just wanted to listen. He’s fired up. He’s ready to go.”
Washington is encouraging Trout to continue lobbying Moreno for free-agent help.
“He’s talked to me about it, and he’s talked to the man about it that can make a difference,” Washington said. “Now, it’s up to someone else to make the call. But my comment to that? Keep going Mike.”
Trout shared the blame as much as anyone else for the Angels’ struggles. He is an 11-time All-Star who finished in the top five in MVP voting his first nine full seasons. He hit .308 and averaged 35 homers, 92 RBI with a .422 on-base percentage from 2013-2018.
Yet, he has been missed 249 games the past three seasons. He hasn’t played more than 140 games since 2016. He suffered a strained calf in 2021 that sidelined him for five months, a back injury that cost him five weeks in 2022 and a broken hand that kept him out half of last season.
“If I’m on the field, that makes a difference,” Trout said. “It crushes me. I hate talking about it. I always want to be out there with the guys. Even if I’m 60%, I try to go out there and play. It kills me when I have to come in the clubhouse and not see my name in that lineup.”
Incredibly, Trout, Anthony Rendon and Ohtani played together in only 22% of the Angels’ games the past three seasons.
Washington also traveled to Houston to speak to Rendon, who has missed 338 games since the 2020 season, hitting .235 with a .701 OPS with just 11 homers and 80 RBI.
The injuries have left Rendon frustrated to the point where he actually spoke publicly about retiring, even though he has $105 million left on his contract the next three seasons.
“This is a job,” he said. “I do this to make a living. My faith, my family comes first before this job. So, if those things come before it, I’m leaving.”
Still, it’s grossly unfair, he says, for anyone to believe he’s content collecting $36 million a year while sitting out with injuries.
“I don’t want to have surgeries,” said Rendon, who had hip surgery in 2021, wrist surgery in 2022 and a fractured shin in 2023. “You think I like going under the knife and being in pain the majority of my time? I can’t even pick up my kids. I can’t walk. You think I enjoy that?”
Trout, who wants to remain in center field as long as his body will allow, has never expressed any intention of ever leaving before the end of his contract. He just wants what Rendon already has already experienced: a World Series title and playing in seven postseason rounds.
Trout’s lone postseason experience came in 2014, and it lasted just three games when they were swept by the Kansas City Royals. He didn’t even watch a single game of the postseason.
The drought, of course, could last longer without Ohtani. The Angels’ biggest free-agent signing this winter has been reliever Robert Stephenson, who received a three-year, $33 million deal.
“Obviously, you lose a great player, and you understand that things happen,’’ Angels general manager Perry Minasian said, “but the one constant for me the last three years is Mike Trout. You know he’s going to show up in great shape. And you know he’s going to be extremely motivated to not only be as good as he can be, but to make everyone around him better.
“To me, he’s one of the best players, if not the best player in the game, so it would not shock me at all if he’s not just back in that [MVP] conversation, but leading that conversation. His mind is in a great place, and he’s ready to go.”