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Mike Trout

The New York Yankees have a huge hole in their lineup after losing Juan Soto to their crosstown rival Mets, who offered Soto a record-shattering contract that could reach $820 million over 15 years when all is said and done. What do the Bronx Bombers do now, to replace Soto’s production?

According to some reports, the Yankees are looking at Los Angeles Dodgers free agent Teoscar Hernandez. But new, admittedly wild and improbable rumors began floating through baseball circles on Wednesday, involving another superstar hitter from the other Los Angeles team.

“The Yankees are still in ready-to-win mode but now that Juan Soto signed with the Mets the Yankees need another star to pair next to Aaron Judge,” wrote Wrightway Sports Network scribe Matt Shovelson. “The star that will be traded needs to be Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.”

Trout Trade a ‘Prediction, Not a Report’ — So Far

To his credit, Shovelson was quick to add, “This is a PREDICTION, not a REPORT!”

Trout, who was drafted 25th overall by the Angels in 2009 out of Millville Senior High School in Millville, New Jersey, reached the Major Leagues less than two years later and quickly established himself not only as one of the premier players in the game, but possibly one of the greatest ever.

He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2012 and has since won MVP honors three times despite playing for a team that has made the postseason only once in Trout’s 14-year career. That was in 2014 when the Angels won the AL West Division only to lose in a sweep in the Division Series to Kansas City Royals.

Over the first seven years of his career, Trout’s statistics were better than Soto’s in almost every category. Trout hit 235 home runs to Soto’s 201. His OPS of 1.000 topped Soto’s .953. Trout posted a batting average of .310 over those seven seasons to .285 for Soto. And his Wins Above Replacement number came in at 64.1, significantly superior to Soto’s figure of 36.4.

Before the 2019 season, Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension with the Angels. But with six years to go on the deal that would take Trout to age 39, the Angels show no serious signs of making another playoff run.

Though Trout hails from New Jersey and grew up a Yankees fan who idolized the team’s Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter, according to a profile by ESPN, Trout has little desire to play for the Yankees.

Six Years to Go on Trout’s $37 Million Per Year Contract

“Those who know Trout have noted over the years that there’s a certain comfort that comes with separating his home life in the Northeast from his baseball life in Southern California,” wrote ESPN.com columnist Alden Gonzalez earlier this year. “He seems disinterested in the hoopla that would come with playing for the Yankees.”

Trout missed most of the 2024 season, appearing in only 29 games due to a torn left meniscus in his knee — the second injury to the same ligament — but the 11-time All Star said in August that he would be open to switching from centerfield to a corner ourfield role or even to designated hitter, in an effort to stay in the lineup.

There is also the question of whether the Yankees, who were prepared to pay almost $50 million per year to Soto, would be willing to shell out $37 million for a player with Trout’s injury history. That means, in order to make a trade work, the Angels would need to absorb a portion of Trout’s salary even as he, hypothetically, plays for the Yankees.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. Vankin is also the author of five nonfiction books on a variety of topics, as well as nine graphic novels including most recently “Last of the Gladiators” published by Dynamite Entertainment. More about Jonathan Vankin