Mike Trout "Very Invested" In Recruiting Max Scherzer For Angels


Max Scherzer will be a free agent at season's end. We already know of his desire to be on the West Coast, as that surfaced during the trade deadline frenzy that landed him in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. 

But that other LA team, the Angels, are often big spenders on the free agent market, and they are desperate (in fact, all of baseball is desperate for them) to make some moves that can help get Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani into the postseason sometime. 

Now Trout, the best player in baseball over the last decade, is already lobbying to get Scherzer to come down the I-5 to Anaheim, according to Angels' play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian:

"From what I understand," said Vasgersian, "there’s already a lot of lobbying happening by players and the very top of the payroll there. Mike Trout is very invested in the ‘bring Max Scherzer to Anaheim effort'."

Trout has missed almost the entire season with an injury, but he no doubt wields plenty of clout with star players around the league, and in his own front office. 

Two other Angels players have connections to Scherzer, which could help their case: 3rd baseman Anthony Rendon was a teammate of the ace pitcher for several years in Washington; and outfielder Justin Upton and Scherzer spent the early years of their career as teammates in Arizona. 

Scherzer has solidified his case for a possible 4th Cy Young Award since coming to the Dodgers this season, posting a 7-0 mark with a 1.43 ERA in 10 starts in LA. And we all know that pitching, as always, is at the forefront of the Angels' needs. 

After missing five months of the season, Trout can help make up for it with a huge contribution off the field, if he can convince Scherzer to come to Anaheim.

Photo Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports