Mike Trout: Angels must end playoff drought to keep Shohei Ohtani

Mike Trout needs the Los Angeles Angels to end their noteworthy playoff drought for reasons beyond his desire to again play postseason baseball. 

"This is the year, for sure," Trout told MLB insider Jon Heyman on Monday about the Angels qualifying for the playoffs. "This has got to be the year. It’s got to be." 

Trout then suggested that the Angels returning to the postseason could ultimately help convince two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to commit his future to the club. 

"We win and get to the playoffs, he’d think about it a little bit more," Trout said of his famous teammate. 

While speaking with reporters earlier this month, Trout vowed he was "going to do everything I can" to keep Ohtani with the Angels past the upcoming season. It's been reported that the club has a slim chance of signing Ohtani to a long-term extension. 

Agent Nez Balelo said last week that Ohtani has "earned the right to play through the year" and then "explore free agency." It was later speculated that the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player could sign a contract worth a total of around $600 million if he hits the open market. 

As Rhett Bollinger of the MLB website pointed out, the Angels and Detroit Tigers are tied for the league's longest active postseason drought. The clubs last made the playoffs in 2014. 

Trout, a three-time AL MVP, signed a remarkable 12-year contract reportedly worth $426 million that includes a full no-trade clause prior to the 2019 season. The 31-year-old would neither confirm nor deny he could consider waiving that clause if Ohtani heads elsewhere after the campaign. 

"That’s not even on my mind now," Trout told Heyman. "When the time comes, if it comes, I’ll think about it."

Ohtani has been linked with could-be suitors such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs. Trout, meanwhile, has openly discussed the fact he grew up a Philadelphia sports fan in Vineland, New Jersey. It's assumed he could try to force a move to the Philadelphia Phillies while in his prime unless the Angels become a top-tier franchise sooner rather than later.