Mariners fans can’t be foolish enough to fall for MLB exec's Mike Trout hot take

Mike Trout has been a constant thorn in the side of the Seattle Mariners, with more home runs (56) against them than any other player during their five decades in the majors. And with him undergoing a resurgence this season, M's fans probably wish he would just leave the AL West already. Well, at least one MLB executive thinks it's possible, but it does come with a caveat.

As part of MLB.com's annual first-month executive poll, Mark Feinsand asked 20 front office members who they believed would be the biggest name traded ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline. Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins received the most votes, but the player who stood out above anyone else was Trout. Although this must be qualified by noting he only received one vote and the executive in question did admit it was a "hot take."

Keith Law of The Athletic made a good argument that the Angels should trade Trout, who's currently projected to have one of his best seasons since winning the third of his AL MVP awards back in 2019. Law reasons that his value will never be higher, and with one of the worst farms systems in the majors desperately needing some quality prospects. In addition, the likelihood is the Angels won't contend during the final four-plus years of his current contract.

Any possibilty of a trade would require a complete 180 in mindset from Mike Trout and Angels owner

However, as much as Mariners fans would be happy to see Trout gone from the division, the reality is that it just isn't going to happen. Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno isn't the type of person to let stars get traded. This is perfectly illustrated by not moving Shohei Ohtani despite the promise of a big haul and subsequently losing him for nothing following the 2023 season.

As for Trout himself, he's never shown any inclination of a desire to play elsewhere, with him saying as recently as 2024 that he doesn't want to be traded. The only dangling carrot for Mariners fans is that at the time he said he wouldn't rule out the possibility of asking to be moved in the future. However, even in this scenario he would still have to be happy with his potential destination, with him having full no-trade protection as part of his contract.

On this matter, even with Trout playing so well, is any organization really going to take on a contract which still has around $178 million remaining on it? The nine-time Silver Slugger might well be an all-time great, but the reality is he's been battling injuries in recent years and will turn 35 in August.

It's going to be tough for anyone to justify trading for him, and Mariners fans would be foolish to think otherwise.

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