Mike Trout just concluded yet another MVP-caliber season, yet team success has continued to elude the superstar. Trout has only been part of one playoff team (in 2014) and has yet to win even a single postseason game after eight seasons. With Trout only signed for another two years, the Angels may need to turn things around quick to have a better chance at extending or re-signing him, and Trout indeed told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that playing for a contender is a “huge” factor in deciding his future plans. “I want to come to the ballpark playing for something. That’s everybody’s goal here as a player. You don’t want to come playing for nothing,” Trout said. This being said, he still holds the Angels organization in high regard: “My years here we haven’t been winning, but they’ve been taking care of me. I enjoy coming to the ballpark. It (stinks) when it’s September and you’re out of it. But when I was a kid they took a chance on me. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a couple more years and we’ll go from there.” Trout also laughed off the idea of the Angels trading him over the next two years, per Fletcher, saying he “for sure” expects to remain with the franchise through at least 2020. In hopes of keeping Trout beyond then, the Halos are expected to discuss an extension with him during the offseason, Fletcher writes.
Elsewhere around the majors’ West divisions…
- There is a chance the left side of the Rangers’ infield will consist of two new starters next season, as third baseman Adrian Beltre could retire and shortstop Elvis Andrus has an opt-out in his contract. In the latest update regarding the two close friends, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram tweets that Beltre is “genuinely torn” on whether to come back in 2019. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News believes Beltre will walk away, and he explains why in a piece which pays respect to the future Hall of Famer. Andrus, meanwhile, is still planning to stay with his current contract, as was the case a few weeks ago, according to Wilson. Vacating the remainder of the deal would mean leaving a four-year, $58MM guarantee on the table, which may be too risky in the wake of a down season for Andrus.
- The Giants are open minded with what to do with ace Madison Bumgarner as they seek a new baseball operations leader, CEO Larry Baer suggested Sunday. The team “does not plan to dictate a timetable for contention or major decisions such as trading or keeping” Bumgarner, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Instead, the Giants will listen to the candidates’ opinions on the best course of action in regards to Bumgarner, who’s only under control for another year. As for longtime battery mate Buster Posey, the soon-to-be 32-year-old will remain behind the plate when he returns from hip surgery next season – perhaps as early as Opening Day, per Schulman. “There’s been no discussion about him playing any other position,” executive vice president Brian Sabean said. “He’s our franchise player and he wants to catch.”
- More on the Giants, who plan to go into next season with Steven Duggar as their Opening Day center fielder, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets. The 24-year-old got his first taste of major league action this season and hit a below-average .255/.303/.390 (87 wRC+) in 152 plate appearances, though he did account for four Defensive Runs Saved and a 1.4 Ultimate Zone Rating in 345 innings as a center fielder. Baseball America (subscription required) ranks Duggar as the Giants’ sixth-best prospect.
Will be three to five years of bad season for giants
Be patient giants fan
If i was the giants i would tank next year. It doesnt make sense to win 75 to 80 games next year, get a top 3 pick for your farm and trade Bum and Belt for everything a team has. Then u will be ready for the 2020 or 2021 season with a playoff team.
Posey will start the season at catcher, but will finish it at 1st base.
Angel’s need to make Trout a lifetime player. lock him up for life.
It’s not a unilateral decision. The Angel’s may want very much to lock him up for life, but if Trout wants to go to free-agency there’s nothing the team can do about it.
I’m sure the Angels want to lock Trout up for life, but I’m not sure Trout wants to be an Angel for life. He says he wants to play for something in September & that works against the Angels. They aren’t a good team & they don’t have a goo farm system. That isn’t a good formula for winning. I think Trout leaves for that reason.
The Angels farm system is rated much higher than people think. A core of Trout, Ohtani, Simmons and an owner willing to spend, plus talent on the farm all should equal playoffs soon.
The Angels farm isn’t horrible like it used to be but it’s also not even average. They still have a bad farm. An owner willing to spend? You do realise that Arte Moreno owns the Angels, right? The Angels have never even come close to crossing the luxury tax line because Moreno has said he doesn’t want to pay the tax.
If Trout wants to play for a winner then he is gone. Year after year after year, just look at the scoreboard and standings. Neither lie.
They have a top 10 farm system now…and as far as not being a good team, they placed 80-82 with only 2 regular starters for most of the year it’s just been unlucky for the past couple of years due to injuries. Now it’s time to spend on pitching and sign Patrick Corbin and or Charlie Morton and bid on Craig Kimbrel,Andrew Miller,or Cody Allen.
Hard to use the “luck” excuse when they fall well short of the playoffs every year
Why would he want to stay they don’t spend money on the right people so he has to carry them the majority of the year.
Why would Trout want to be locked up for life with a floundering team such are the Angels
Trout seems destined to go to Philly. The only question is whether they’ll break the bank this offseason or not. That will have a big impact on whether they can afford him in 2 years
Destined to go to Philly? When is interleague play again?
He’s a Philly fan, and they have a large payroll and probably will be winning in when he becomes a free agent.
There is a reason that Both Santana’s and Arrieta’s guaranteed $$ ends in 2020.
Did you not read the article. He wants to play for a contender
Right, I’m not banking on the Phillies improving enough by 2021 to see them as the clear favorite to land Trout. Better East Coast teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, maybe the Nationals could be more appealing to a player who badly wants to compete for a championship.. Phillies have so many holes to fill and will likely have to rely heavily on free agency.
Yessir. He will definitely be a Phillie
He is not definetely going to be a Phillie but the Phillies timing and money amd location suggest a good fit
Just do baseball fans a favor and trade Trout out of LA.
*Anaheim
Yeah, the team only played in LA for about 50 years before Brooklyn moved here and stole their logo.
No LA connection at all.
Yeah, the team that currently plays in Orange County.
Keep Mike Trout at all cost!Arte break the bank do the right thing. Make us superior team again. Bring in Joe Gardi lets get it done!
The Angels have had the best player in baseball for 8 years and his excellence has been wasted in mostly unsuccessful seasons. Why would Trout bypass playing for a clear contender in hopes that the Angels are able to make the necessary changes to make them a competitive postseason team again? It seems like they had their shot, and now Trout is ready to move on, and the Angels can’t really blame him if he does.
Because any team that signs Trout will be hamstrung with his salary and that could be a detriment for that organization. He could be the next Pujols and prevent the team he signed with from having flexibility to build a solid core around him. Trout would ideally go to a team that has an up and coming core of young players who haven’t plateaued yet, but a team that is fully rebuilt typically isn’t looking to add payroll. Weren’t the Yankees recently a non-contender for a few years? Those things go in cycles. I would also bet that Trout wouldn’t go to the Yanks because they already have Stanton on the books with a huge contract. If they sign him as well, the Yankees will go through what they did when they had all those aging contracts (Tex, A-Rod, etc).
SF lost 15-0 to Dodgers today. (LAD playing for game 163) What do you guys expect from the Giants, 2019?
this shows you know nothing about the giants or baseball.
They’re stuck in the middle, and are an interesting topic of discussion, not to mention the thread. think that loss was deflating, and summarized their season. Dodgers had something to play for, Giants did not? (My guess why was 15-0 thrashing) If they going for it 2019, will be fascinating to follow. Seems like popular consensus is, they should rebuild, but split 50/50 amongst their fans here. Tough spot.. Oh yea. Thanks for the insults.
One bad season is a fluke, two bad seasons is a trend. The Giants had some bad luck with injuries, but they should be under no illusion that their current group is a contender. Time to rebuild.
Totally embarrassing the way the Giants folded against the Dodgers down the stretch when they had the opportunity to be a difference maker with regard to them even making the playoffs. And why can’t the Giants figure out how to beat the Padres – or is that fate for Bochy defecting from San Diego to San Francisco??
Yes, embarrassing that they couldn’t give the Dodgers more resistance. Then again, maybe it’s long overdue payback to the Rockies for 1993, when they couldn’t win one solitary game against the Braves that year.
Citing “he’s our franchise player” as the reason for a base ball decision sounds insane to me.
How about this, instead: everyone on the team will be asked to do whatever gives us the best chance to win. No exceptions.
Agreed. But, where’s the better answer at catcher for SF? As I’m sure there are quite a few better options at 1st base than Posey as well for the Giants
Giants have had many years to develop catchers to supplement Posey but have failed. In the same way, they have failed to develop outfielders, making it necessary for them to go the free agent route.
well posey is the best guy behind the plate – that is the reasoning for keeping him there. things may change in a year or 2 when bart comes up if he is still on an upward trajectory but it also depends on what happens with belt.
What the heck does a Mike Trout extension even look like?
Just picture some numbers, and lots of commas.
15 for 400
Sorry 500 not 400
I could see between 10 for 400 or 15 for 500.
15 years would never happen. That would be signing him until he is 44 and no team is going to risk paying 30+ million a year at that age. I think you may be right on the total though. If he really wants to play for a contender it might take 10/500 to convince him to pass up free agency.
To be honest I think going 10 years on any player whether it is Harper or Machado this year or even Trout in 2 years will turn out to be a major mistake for the signing team. I can’t think of any 8-10 year deals that didn’t end up a problem.
Most of those players signed 10 year deals into their 40s…that’s why there’s added hype right now.
“What the heck does a Mike Trout extension even look like?”
I doubt he would even talk about one until Harper and Machado sign because what ever they get he deserves a few million more each year.
It would not surprise me to see his AAV reach $46mm + but I really don’t think he will sign one. The LAA have so much $$ on the books the next few seasons it will take everything to to fall into place just right for them to contend again soon.
What does a lifetime contract for Trout even look like?…
Jinx!
The only way Trout will ever play for a contender is if he leaves. And the only way the Angels will ever contend is if he leaves.
Sounds like the tag line for a Hallmark Channel movie.
Posey sounds like Mauer immediately before he quit catching
Rangers left side will be Profar and Andrus. Profar has finally earned a starting role. Wonder if Beltre would consider being our hitting coach next year (assuming he does retire).
If he does indeed retire, he’ll probably step away from baseball for a little while — it’s been noted that he wants to spend time with his family.
Every sports fan in the world should know who Mike Trout is, but instead he is the sports world’s best kept secret. If he wants to change that going forward he should get out of there.
If Trout signs an extension with the Angels there will probably be one or two years in that span where the Angels have a shot to make it to the World Series. Is than enough for Trout, or does he want to play for a team that is a contender almost every year?
If he wants the latter, there’s no way he signs an extension with the Angels.
I would argue that the Angels attempt to compete every single season, because they have not “tanked” in the last 20 years.
Perhaps more relevant than “what would an extension for Trout look like?’ is ‘ what would a reasonable offer for the last two years of Trout’s contract look like?’
A team acquiring him might go with the final two years of the deal and then be willing to let him go.
Artie Moreno you have had all these opportunities to be fair you have tried harder at times than others, the thing that sets those two clubs in the east is that they throughout the season don’t stop trying to get better it’s not at the beginning of the year through free agency it’s a continuous process throughout the year when someone goes down they go out and get somebody else to fill the gap if you can’t understand that if you say you going to reach the luxury tax or pass it if you need to and don’t you’re lying to yourself and you’re lying to us this is from an angel fan all the way back from a little kid please do the right thing there is a small chance that Trout will stay you’ve blown it this far, what will you do next?
Trout shifted to the human side; whinning about playing for nothing, lack of motivation,
et cetra.
Grimney, all that dough. Should read Banks book “Let’s play . . .’ Any ways . . . he is human.
And he is a whinner!
Rangers are the kind of dumb team that would sign trout in the middle of a rebuild lol