Mike Trout discussed his future and Anthony Rendon clarified his list of priorities Monday as veterans of the Los Angeles Angels and their colleagues from other major league teams reported to their respective spring camps in Arizona and Florida.
Trout, named MVP three times and an 11-time All-Star, has made the playoffs just once in his Major League Baseball career. He nevertheless declared that he does not wish to evolve under other skies, even if the Angels are in full reconstruction following the departure of two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Trout, a 32-year-old veteran, has spent his entire 13-season career with the Angels, and he signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract with them in 2019. The Angels have compiled a 73- 89 last year, en route to an eighth straight losing season. They haven’t reached the playoffs since 2014, when they were swept by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series.
“I think the easy solution would be to demand a trade,” Trout told reporters. Maybe it will come, maybe. But I haven’t thought about it yet. When I signed my contract, it was out of loyalty. I want to win a championship here. The prospect of winning a championship or making the playoffs here is more satisfying to me than giving up or taking the easy way out. This is my approach. Maybe it will be different, if some things change. »
Trout said he continues to ask owner Arte Moreno and club management for reinforcements on the free agent market to compensate for Ohtani’s departure. The latter ratified a 10-year, 700 million pact with the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter.
“I’m going to keep putting pressure on for as long as I can,” Trout said. Until the season starts, or until these guys are under contract. I am like this. »
Among the highly coveted players who recently landed with the Angels is Rendon, who agreed to a seven-year, $245 million contract in December 2019. Rendon, who had just won the World Series with the Washington Nationals, won two Silver sticks in seven seasons in the American federal capital. However, he never played more than 58 games in each of his first four seasons with the Angels, due to injuries.
PHOTO MARK J. TERRILL, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Anthony Rendon
Rendon assured Monday that his passion for baseball has never wavered since the start of his career, although he also admitted that the sport “has never been my top priority.”
“It’s my job,” Rendon told reporters. It’s my livelihood. My faith and family come before work. »
Rendon noted that her marriage and the arrival of her four children changed her perspective on life. However, he recalled in the same breath that his job was one of his priorities, even if it is not his absolute priority.
“Oh, it’s a priority, for sure,” Rendon said. Because it’s my livelihood. And I’m here, right? »