Grading reader submitted trade proposals for the Cardinals

Cardinals bring in another superstar from a struggling West Coast team

Submitted by @BigZies34

Cardinals receive: OF Mike Trout

Angels receive: 2B/3B Nolan Gorman, OF Dylan Carlson, OF/DH Alec Burleson, LHP Matthew Liberatore, OF Moises Gomez, C Andrew Knizner 

Grade: B

I am grading this trade based in a world where the Angels decide they are going to listen to offers on Mike Trout (which I do believe will happen in the next 1-3 seasons). The package is actually pretty realistic for what it could take to get Trout, but I do think there are some adjustments needed.

First, Trout still has 8 years, $283 million left on his contract entering his age-31 season. Pair that with struggling to stay healthy the last few seasons, I do think the Angels would have to eat some of Trout’s contract in order to get a package like this. It’s one thing to sign Trout to that kind of deal at this age, which a lot of teams would, it’s a whole other thing to trade a lot of value for that kind of contract.

If the Angels ate some of that contract, similar to how the Rockies did. If the Angels ate between 20%-25% of Trout’s money, that would take his AAV down between $24-$28 million a year, which would be very manageable for St. Louis, considering they are adding the best player of this generation.

Trout, even after missing some time with injury and having a cold-stretch in June, slashed .283/.369/.630 with 40 HR and 80 RBI in just 119 games for the Angels. Imagine putting him in a lineup with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, surrounded by guys like Jordan Walker, Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, and Brendan Donovan. Easily the best lineup in baseball.

The Angels may need a bit more value to eat that much of Trout’s contract, but I do think this gets St. Louis close to a deal. I’ll be anxious to see what happens if Trout ever gets shopped by the Angels.