Justin Pizzo

Mike Trout is one of the most recognizable names in the game of baseball. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and the 2010’s was certainly the decade of Trout. 

In his entire 13-year career, Trout has won 3 MVP awards. He has also only played in 3 total playoff games as the Angels have been nothing more than mediocre during the Trout era. 

Trout is from the South Jersey area, and grew up around the city of Philadelphia. Since the beginning of his career, fans have longed to see Trout play for his hometown team, the Phillies. 

The Phillies are in a window to win it all at the moment, so the idea of Trout coming over to the city of brotherly love is quite appealing. However, I’m here to explain why the Phillies front office should NOT trade for Mike Trout.

Trout is undeniably a top 3 player in baseball when he’s on the field. The big issue with that is he’s hardly on the field these days. In the past 3 seasons, the most games Trout played in a season was 119. This was in 2022, and in 2023 he only played in a total of 82 games. He has been very prone to injury in these past few years which should be a big consideration when making a trade for a player of his caliber.

With that being said, in order to land Trout in a trade you will need to absolutely blow up the farm system. Andrew Painter, who is only 20, would likely be going back to LA. Painter is the Phillies top prospect and before going down with injury was the #1 pitching prospect in all of baseball. Painter wouldn’t be the only prospect going back either. The Phillies would have to give up what looks to be a promising future for one player. 

To say that Trout wouldn’t contribute to this lineup would be completely false. However, the risk that comes with making a trade for him is likely greater than the reward. With injury haunting his career as he continues to age, the Phillies would be smart to hold off on a Mike Trout trade.