Mike Trout pushing to make it work with Angels, big-ticket additions

MLB

By Jon Heyman

TEMPE, Ariz. — The great Mike Trout is back for his 14th season as an Angel, and while the experience, talent and pennant expectations appear notably diminished for his star-crossed organization — in terms of bad luck, they are like the Mets of the West — Trout’s attitude never wavers.

Trout is determined to make it work where he is. While everyone around the game assumes he wants out of the team that’s posted eight straight losing seasons, he remains comfortable and committed as ever.

“All that talk only fuels me to try to win here,” Trout told The Post. “I want to win here.”

There’s no consideration to ask for a trade, and that goes for both sides. Even if Trout wanted out, there are three big reasons it isn’t happening: 1) A couple injury-riddled seasons have lessened his value, so the Angels might have to offset some of his $35.5 million salary, 2) he is the one marquee man remaining after two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani got his heavily deferred $700 million deal 45 miles up the I-5 with the Dodgers, and 3) it’s hard to see owner Arte Moreno consenting to trade the greatest player in Angels history.

Trout remains in constant contact with Moreno and higher-ups, but the subject is addition, not subtraction. Yes, while Trout loves the “energy” of the team and hasn’t lost his zeal for the game and the team, he is realistic, too. So he continues to advocate for stars whose free agency has dragged into the latter part of spring — presumably two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell plus Jordan Montgomery, J.D. Martinez and others (he specifically mentioned Tommy Pham, who he noted was a middle-of-the-order hitter in the World Series).

“I’m in their ear every day,” Trout said about his bosses. “I don’t know what’s going on with the market right now. It’s pretty crazy.”

The loss of Ohtani, which didn’t surprise Trout (more on that later) has left a decent but young and very unproven nucleus, and almost no expectations beyond the assumption that Moreno might want to provide a reason not to bypass Angel Stadium on the way to Chavez Ravine.

Snell has been linked to the Angels, but that seems like a long shot, as the Astros, Giants and a mystery team or two seem more likely now. The Angels — the best big-market team at avoiding the luxury tax are way below now, at a meager $188 million — have conducted talks on Snell and they like him, but there’s no evidence of progress.

Montgomery, an October hero who proved better than the Yankees thought, would seem like another possibility. But he has been linked more closely to the Rangers, Red Sox, Cubs and others. At this point, a less expensive star like…