How Mike Trout Was 'Left Behind' As Shohei Ohtani Wins Two Rings
Mike Trout has not played in a postseason game since 2014, marking the longest active playoff absence for a player of his level. As a three-time MVP, the 34-year-old center fielder approaches the later years of his career with the Los Angeles Angels.
Trout boasts an 87.5 WAR, the highest ever for a modern player without a postseason win. The Angels have not made the playoffs since a 2014 ALDS sweep by Kansas City, and the franchise itself has not won a postseason game since 2009, the year Trout was drafted.
In March 2019, Trout signed a 12-year, $426 million contract extension, which was then the largest deal in North American sports. The contract runs through 2030 with around $190 million left to be paid.
"I've got (five) more years on the contract," Trout told The Athletic in September. "I feel like I've got a lot left in my tank. And I know when it's right, I can be the best."
Multiple sources told The Athletic that Trout would never request a trade from the Angels, considering it "the easy way out."
Former teammate Shohei Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023 and has since won World Series championships in each season with the team. Trout and Ohtani played six seasons together but appeared in the lineup simultaneously in only 46.6% of Angels games, during which the team posted a 194-211 record.
Summary: Despite Mike Trout's exceptional career and loyalty to the Angels, he has yet to experience postseason success, while former teammate Shohei Ohtani has secured multiple World Series titles since departing the team.