The Los Angeles Angels predictably sold at the trade deadline. Less predictable was the extent to which L.A. sold, as interim GM John Mozeliak broke with longstanding Angels tradition and actually moved with a purpose. Los Angeles made five trades on the day, sending out José Soriano, Brent Suter, Joe Adell, Kirby Yates and Ryan Zeferjahn.
And all of those players but Soriano were enjoying a golf outing with All-Star outfielder Mike Trout in his hometown of Millville, N.J., when the news broke, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Mike Trout was inadvertently in the middle of the Angels’ trade deadline spree
Deadline day, Aug. 3, happened to be an off day for the Angels before a series in Baltimore. Trout, as a result, hosted roughly a dozen teammates for a round of golf near his home in New Jersey.
“It seemed like every four or five holes someone was getting the call,” Trout told The Athletic.
Kirby Yates, the 39-year-old reliever who was dealt last among the group — right at the 6 p.m. ET buzzer — reflected on the odd communal experience.
“It was pretty wild watching everybody go. After somebody went, we just kept saying, ‘All right, who’s next?'”
Reliever Brent Suter was dealt to Atlanta before the first hole, Rosenthal writes, but able to finish the afternoon before catching an evening flight. Jo Adell, traded around the halfway point, gave out a few hugs and departed for Cleveland mid-round.
A few holes later, with Trout and his teammates huddled under a roof to wait out the rain, the biggest surprise of the afternoon dropped. Zeferjahn, the uber-talented 28-year-old reliever with four additional years of club control, was dealt to the Cubs. Yates was in the car, heading back to Trout’s home, when he learned of his move to Pittsburgh.
In the middle of all the chaos was Reid Detmers, Los Angeles’ top ace, who navigated false reports of a trade to the Cubs and the uncertainty of a day spent on the chopping block. Trout’s final comment on the situation seemed less than enthused.
“It was just different,” Trout told The Athletic. “We were all enjoying a round of golf. It was different, for sure.”
Can John Mozeliak and Mike Trout survive in Anaheim?
This was undeniably a productive deadline for the Angels. For far too long under previous GM Perry Minasian, the Angels were stuck in neutral — clearly uncompetitive, but too naïve to actually tear down the roster and retool. Mozeliak inherited a middling farm system and an overpriced roster, which he is tasked with shaping into a more sustainable path forward.
Mozeliak is one of the most accomplished and lauded GMs of his generation, having spent the last two decades with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was expected to retire after handing off the reins to Chaim Bloom, but instead he’s back in the saddle. This does not feel like a long-term arrangement, but Mozeliak certainly has the credentials — and, reading between the lines, the organizational sway — to stick around and facilitate big changes, if he so chooses.
The only issue here is that Trout has spent the last decade of his Hall of Fame career playing meaningless baseball on a losing team. Trout has managed to stay both healthy and productive this season, but it’s clear the Angels are not focused on building a contender around him. Nor should they be, but still: It feels like watching your best teammates slowly trickle away during a team bonding trip to your home golf course sends the wrong signals.
Trout, equipped with a full no-trade clause, has remained steadfast in refuting the idea that he would ever sign off of a move out of Anaheim. He clearly loves living and playing in Los Angeles. At a certain point, however, the copious losing — now with the understanding that the team is embracing the longest view in the room — could eventually rub Trout the wrong way. Does he really want to keep playing for a 70-win team in perpetuity, with a front office thinking about a future beyond him (or beyond what’s left of his prime)? Right now, it seems like Trout is still committed. But commitment can be fickle in professional sports, and even the most loyal stars tend to get second thoughts eventually.
Mozeliak, Trout and the Angels are on diverging paths. Maybe nothing comes of this and Trout happily retires in Anaheim, with postseason baseball nothing but a distant memory. He’s a Hall of Famer with or without adding October accolades to his résumé. Or maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of the end.
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