Phillies-Mike Trout Connection Flares Up Again After Eagles Interactions
After several interactions with the Philadelphia Eagles, Angels outfielder Mike Trout is once again being connected to the Phillies.
The Phillies–Mike Trout connection will never go away. The Angels center fielder is the near-unanimous choice for the best player in baseball who may turn out to be quite the historic player. Ever since breaking into the major-leagues, the South Jersey native has been linked to the Phillies as a possible trade target for the time.
Trout’s connection to Philadelphia was raised once again when he gifted each player of the Philadelphia Eagles a pair of green and white Nike sneakers. In addition, Trout and Philadelphia’s starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, went on a hunting trip during the Christmas weekend. Wentz told Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer, “We just kind of hung out and went hunting – nothing real crazy. He’s a great guy. It’s been cool getting to know him.”
Trout regularly attends Eagles games and led the crowd in singing “Fly, Eagles, Fly” when the Eagles beat the Vikings back in October. He is friends with Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, and the two, along with their respective fiancée’s, went to dinner while Trout was in Arizona for a spring training.
Trout’s Eagles fandom is one of the many factors that leads to speculation about Trout one day playing baseball in Philadelphia.
Phils general manager Matt Klentak was the Angels assistant GM from 2011-2014, so the two have a professional connection if nothing else. Plus, as we are constantly reminded, Trout grew up in Millville, N.J.
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Even with all the connections Trout has to Philadelphia, it would still take quite a lot of prospects, money, or both to get him here. A trade for Trout will require numerous, major-league ready players who can be contributors for several seasons to come without robbing Philadelphia of all their talented players. A trade for Trout is borderline impossible for the Phils, unfortunately.
Meanwhile, Trout is slated to make $33.2 million in each of the last three years of his current contract, and it’s safe to say he would want a pay raise when he hits free agency.
As a big-market team, Philadelphia would have the financial resources to give Trout a $40 million per year deal. That would still take up a large portion for the team’s luxury-tax threshold, so the team would have to be smart with their money if they were to acquire Trout through free agency.
Trout will always have the connection to the Phils due to his Eagles fandom and place of birth. Whether or not that will influence him into playing for Philadelphia is left to be seen.