Mike Trout laughed at the suggestion, and he should. Trade him? What sort of insanity would have to seize a general manager to even contemplate such a thing?
Billy Eppler's not that crazy, that's for sure.
"No chance," the Angels GM told mlb.com. "You do not move superstar players."
Especially a player who hasn't even turned 25 yet, who has finished first or second in AL MVP voting all four years he's been in the league, and who is signed through the 2020 season. Trout, on a Hall of Fame track, is the type of player that last-place teams are desperate to acquire, not deal away.
And yet, the idea was floated by baseball analysts across the league last week, so much so that Trout felt compelled to respond to the speculation.
"I've seen it. I just laugh about it," Trout told mlb.com. "I love where I'm at. I love Anaheim, the stadium, the organization, and obviously the teammates."
But the idea isn't as insane as it seems. All but impossible, perhaps, but not crazy. The Angels entered the weekend with a worse record than every AL team but the Twins — and their long-term future arguably is much less promising than Minnesota's. When Garrett Richards, the ace of L.A.'s rotation, was told last week that he needs Tommy John elbow surgery, the outlook grew even bleaker.
Garrett joins Andrew Heaney, who reportedly might also need Tommy John surgery, on the disabled list for this year and probably next year as well. C.J. Wilson and Huston Street are hurt, too. The Angels' farm system is the victim of misfortune, trades and neglect, and could take years to recover. Ranked as the worst farm system in baseball by far, the Angels don't have a single player on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list; the Twins have six. And the offense, which ranks 12th in the AL even with Trout, includes three players who rank among the worst hitters at their positions — catcher Carlos Perez, shortstop Andrelton Simmons and second baseman Johnny Giavotella.
