Philadelphia Phillies Predicted to Trade for Los Angeles Angels Superstar

Is Mike Trout the answer for the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason?

Apr 24, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout (27) hits a home run during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

It was a tough end to what was largely a very successful 2024 season for the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Despite having one of the best records in baseball, the Phillies were eliminated by the New York Mets in the National League Division Series. The organization likely deemed this season a failure, as they had World Series expectations coming into the year. 

Due to Philadelphia being eliminated earlier than they would have hoped, they will likely be making some significant roster changes this offseason. 

Coming into the winter, a few of the glaring issues from the postseason were in the bullpen and in the outfield. The bullpen really struggled despite being pretty good during the regular season. 

In the outfield, their bats really let them down in the playoffs, as only Nick Castellanos was an offensive contributor for them. 

With the outfield certainly being a need for the Phillies, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently proposed that Philadelphia should go after Mike Trout in a potential massive move. 

“What about the Phillies, though? The Angels would need to eat a lot of Trout's remaining contract in any trade negotiation, and especially in one with Philadelphia, which is already staring down the barrel of a roughly $275M payroll in 2025. If, however, Los Angeles retains the entirety of Trout's 2025 salary before letting Philly begin to pay its share in 2026 once JT Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber come off the books, the Phillies would be quite interested in adding the 11-time All-Star in hopes of addressing the fact that they pinch-hit for an outfielder six times in a postseason run that lasted just four games.”

As a fan of Philadelphia growing up, it has long been desired that Trout come home to the Phillies. 

However, he has been fiercely loyal to the Los Angeles Angels, but unfortunately, that has resulted in him barely seeing any postseason action at this point in his career. 

While Trout is an exciting name, he isn’t the same player as five years ago. The slugger has had to deal with a lot of injuries in recent years and is owed a lot of money. 

If Trout was healthy, he would be a massive upgrade for Philadelphia in the outfield, but he simply hasn’t shown the ability to stay on the field, and those injuries have also impacted his production when he is playing. 

In order to facilitate a deal, it would take Los Angeles to eat a lot of his contract. However, while it would be exciting, Trout likely isn’t the missing piece for a title run for Philadelphia based on his injuries in recent years.