The oft-injured star will have some things to discuss with the club in the offseason.
With fewer than 30 games left in the regular season, the Angels are fast approaching a hugely important offseason. 2023, for lack of better words, was an utter disappointment.
Injuries. Poor play. Bad luck. It’s all added up to another sub .500 record and no October baseball in Anaheim.
After the final out is recorded in this year’s World Series, the Angels will see Shohei Ohtani officially become a free agent and, perhaps, the end of an era that was primed to see him and Mike Trout finally getting opportunities in the postseason.
Trout recently told the Orange County Register that he’ll have some questions for the front office about the direction of the club in the offseason. What those questions are, however, he hasn’t quite put much thought into.
“When it’s brought up in the offseason, you’ve obviously got to talk about it, and think about it,” he said. “I haven’t thought about it yet. There are going to be some conversations in the winter, for sure. Just to see the direction of everything and what the plan is.”
His injury-plagued season certainly didn’t help the Halos. He’s missed eight weeks and counting after breaking the hamate bone in his left wrist on a swing in July. He returned for a one game cameo in August before going back on the IL to continue recovering from wrist surgery.
When Trout went down, the Angels were 3 games over .500. In other words, they were middling. Despite losing more ground leading up to the trade deadline, the front office added talent to the roster (albeit for just about a month) and was not rewarded for the mostly praised moves.
So, as the season winds down, the Angels are at a crossroads. As is Mike Trout.
He dodged a question about potentially requesting a trade this offseason, saying “I’m not even going to comment on that.” There’s frustration but there’s also hope with this muddled together roster of veteran leaders and younger talent.
For the front office and, really, team owner Arte Moreno, it may be less about adding talent in the winter (a starting pitcher or two certainly would not hurt, of course), and more about investing into the organization. More scouting. More quality coaching at the lower levels of the minor leagues. And definitely some help in the strength and conditioning department.
Whether or not Mike Trout feels the same we’ll see in the coming months.
