Trout suspected that Ohtani will sign with the Dodgers

After spending six seasons, Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a mind-blowing and record-breaking contract worth $700 million with the Angels, where he never reached the postseason, hoping that in 2024 he can fight for the World Series.

Now, Mike Trout remains the only superstar in the Angels roster after Ohtani left, trying to pick up the pieces of a broken-down organization that has been stuck in mediocrity for over a decade now, entering 2024 with low expectations for playoff baseball.

Trout is in a pickle right now, as the Angels are seen as a non-competitive team, and his prime might as well have already passed; however, during a press conference at the Angels Spring Training complex, he pledged his loyalty to the Halos and his desire to win a World Series in Ahaheim, despite the trade rumors surrounding him.

Mike Trout speaks for the first time about Shohei Ohtani signing with the Dodgers: 'I had a pretty good idea'

However, he understands why Ohtani left the team and congratulated him, saying that he had a feeling that it would be the Dodgers all along.

I kind of had a pretty good idea, my gut feeling was going to be Dodgers. I’m just happy for him (for Ohtani). Everybody reads everything and everybody said Dodgers, so that’s what I was going with.

Mike Trout

Is Trout past his prime?

Mike Trout signed a then record-breaking contract in 2019 with the Angels for 12 seasons and $426.5 million that will keep him in Anaheim until the end of the 2030 season.

At the time, the deal was seen as a safe bet for the Angels, but injuries have derailed the latter stages of Trout’s stellar career.

Since the Covid-19 season in 2020, Trout has yet to manage a complete season, appearing in just 237 out of 486 regular season games since the start of 2021, meaning that he has lost more than 50% of the Angels games during that period.