Latest Mike Trout Report Could Be Positive for Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies might be able to land Mike Trout for a decent price.

Aug 2, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout (27) in the dugout during the MLB game against the New York Mets at Angel Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

It's been a dream for Philadelphia Phillies fans to one day have Mike Trout on the roster.

Who can blame them? What fan base wouldn't want someone who's been the best player in Major League Baseball and has ties to the city?

Sadly, that's changed over the past few years. While still an incredible talent when he's on the field, the Vineland, New Jersey native can't stay healthy.

Trout has played in just 319 games since the start of the 2020 season, a major concern.

During that stretch, he's slashed .277/.379/.580 with a 162 OPS, 93 home runs, and 202 RBI in 1,171 at-bats.

Still giving elite production, if Trout had stayed healthy, there's a very good chance he would've went down as a top three player to ever touch the diamond.

One could still argue that, from a talent standpoint, he's still such, but these injuries have changed the trajectory of his career.

At this point, the Phillies would be making a poor decision by trading for him.

Unless they could get him for a favorable price and the Los Angeles Angels would pay some of his salary, there's no reason to trade for a guy who can't stay on the field.

However, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic, an executive said the Angels "would have" to send more than half the money remaining on his contract for a team to make a trade for him.

"Reality suggests Trout is unlikely to leave. Given the age, injury history and financial commitment, one executive said the Angels would have to eat more than half the money just to bring a potential partner to the table."

Would Philadelphia be comfortable with that? Better yet, would Trout even want to play for the Phillies?

The fans would love him, but let's be honest, if he was on the team and weren't playing, Philadelphia fans would let him know.

A passionate fan base, Trout could avoid the Phillies because of that.

"Trout has made clear he wants to stay with one team his whole career. He wants to know what success tastes like with a franchise that’s desperate for it. But on top of that, Anaheim offers comfort. A low-stakes environment with fans that will love him no matter what. That certainly would not be true in Philadelphia, New York or Boston," Blum wrote.

All in all, this report about him potentially being traded with Los Angeles sending money out could be a good thing for Philadelphia.

There's a lot of risk, but if they think he can play in 100 games plus the postseason, it's worth taking.