The Los Angeles Angels are still facing some difficult decisions about the future of their team. Considering the value that Mike Trout still possesses, the signing of Shohei Ohtani will have far-reaching effects.

The Angels’ anticipated tax payroll going into the 2024 season is $161.6 million, which includes pre-arbitration and arbitration estimates for players. They now have roughly $106 million left over before the competitive balance tax threshold.

Their capacity to provide Ohtani with that cash, who is expected to fetch a record-breaking contract on the open market, is crucial. The Angels’ immediate future depends on the pure average annual value (AAV), which will be different from most of what has been awarded for a player of his caliber, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

“I was recently informed by an experienced agent that the Angels would likely turn around and become sellers if Shohei Ohtani was not re-signed. That’s hard for me to see under owner Arte Moreno. He has never given off the impression of being able to play three-dimensional chess or accept the reality of his roster.

Their best remaining prospects left during their desperate attempt to make a trade deadline, significantly degrading their depth.

The franchise’s distinctive quality is similar to that of a few others in Major League Baseball in that it is primarily focused on developing its farm system. For it to succeed, general manager Perry Minasian and owner Arte Moreno must essentially work in unison.

Our opinion on Mike Trout’s future with the Angels in the event that Shohei Ohtani departs

It normally takes a single generational player to turn a team around in ten years, and Trout was that player. At the age of 19, it took him just two years to make it to the big leagues when the Angels selected him as the 25th overall choice in the first round.

Since then, he has grown to be a vital member of the club, but the front office has done a terrible job of developing the farm system, which would have given the team the opportunity to develop a plan for developing young, manageable players to complete the roster.

If the Angels’ trade of Trout is contingent upon anything, it is that the team receiving the player’s base salary of $35.45 million per season until he is 38 finds it prudent to take a chance on the 32-year-old.