After much speculation down the stretch of the season and into the early part of the offseason, it seems that Los Angeles Angels star outfielder Mike Trout will be remaining with the team next season. Angels general manager Perry Minasian reiterated the desire to keep Trout on the team, and the Halos are moving forward with him.
“Angels GM Perry Minasian reiterates that Mike Trout will be playing for the Angels in 2024 after several large market teams privately inquired about his availability.”
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today
There had been a lot of talk about a potential Trout trade, but the Angels are looking at him as their franchise leader going forward. With two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani likely leaving the organization, the Halos probably want to make sure that they have some star power on the roster.
Trout has been their guy for a while now, and they still believe that he can lead the way for them. He dealt with some injuries last season, and the hope is that he will be able to get through the 2024 season healthy.
In 82 games played a year ago, Trout hit .262 with 18 home runs and 44 runs batted in. It was a down year production-wise from him, but they remain hopeful that he can bounce back to what we have all come to expect from him.
With the Angels in a bit of a flux right now, Trout remains one of the contents on the team. He is a fan favorite, and parting with him would be very difficult to sell the fanbase. The Halos may elect to move him at some point, but for now, he remains in Anaheim.
The Angels offseason is a very interesting one with the team saying that they want to be aggressive in upgrading the team for next season. They haven’t made the postseason since 2014, but the franchise seems determined to end that drought next year if possible.