Stephen A. Smith urges Mike Trout to request a trade from the Los Angeles Angels after their latest loss to the New York Yankees, highlighting Trout's struggles to achieve postseason success with the team. Despite Trout's impressive performance, the Angels' record remains disappointing.
Mike Trout continues to be one of the best MLB stars in the league, but his Los Angeles Angels cannot catch a break with on-field success and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith is sick of it.
Monday nightās dramatic loss to the New York Yankees proved to be another prime example. Trout blasted two home runs on a high-scoring night at Yankee Stadium.
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However, Aaron Judge and the Yankees still managed to come away with an 11-10 victory that sets the Angels back to 8-9 on the season. The 2026 MLB campaign still has many months to go, but the Angels donāt exactly have a great track record with helping Trout reach the postseason.
"Can you demand a trade?"@stephenasmith wants Mike Trout to request a trade from the Angels š³ pic.twitter.com/pQn8tphyFW
ā First Take (@FirstTake) April 14, 2026
That led to ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith pleading with the ball club and Trout to get him out of Los Angeles.
During his 15-year MLB career, Trout and the Angels havenāt been able to find playoff success. In fact, Trout has only appeared in three postseason games, all of which resulted in Angels losses.
āIām going to dedicate this one to my man Jeff who lives out here in California,ā Smith said on ESPN First Take. āCan we call Mike Trout out? This is one of the greatest talents weāve ever seen in the history of baseball.
āYo, Mike Trout. We love you man. We canāt get enough of watching you ā¦ can you demand a trade?ā
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Trout first joined Los Angeles back in 2011 and has since become one of the top hitters in MLB history. His 404 home runs ranks second among active players, only trailing Giancarlo Stanton.
However, Troutās lack of team success is always a knock on the player. Itās certainly an unfair critique considering how excellent heās been as an MLB superstar, but many fans across the league hoped for a similar outcome that Smith is suggesting.
Trout grew up in South Jersey as a passionate NFL fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and a Philadelphia Phillies supporter. That naturally created the narrative that perhaps the Phillies would find a way to bring him to the National League.
However, that unfortunately never transpired to this point in his legendary career.
Stephen A. Smith believes Mike Trout should request a trade due to the Angels' ongoing struggles and lack of postseason success.
In the game against the Yankees, Mike Trout hit two home runs, but the Angels lost 11-10.
The Los Angeles Angels currently have a record of 8-9 for the season.
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