This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ANAHEIM — Angels superstar Mike Trout has always had a deep interest in baseball’s hot stove, whether it’s leading up to the annual Trade Deadline or during the offseason.
Trout likes to be in his general manager’s ear to get a feel for what’s going on in the market and who the Angels could be targeting. So, it wasn’t a surprise to hear that Trout had heard some rumblings on Sunday that his club had an interest in his former teammates Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron.
Trout was the first to reach out via text to both shortly after they got the call from Colorado’s front office that they had been traded to the Angels.
“I just heard some rumors going around,” Trout said with a big smile. “I didn’t know if it was true or not, but then when we landed [in Atlanta], they called me. It was pretty cool. I’ve built some good friendships with Cron and Grich and they fit right in.”
Grichuk and Cron’s stories slightly differed, as they both noted with a laugh that Trout knew that it was more than just a rumor. Grichuk also added he’s had a running joke with Trout that they’d be one day reunited via trade.
Trout and Grichuk’s careers have long been intertwined, as Grichuk was the No. 24 overall pick in the 2009 Draft by the Angels and Trout was taken just one pick later. Trout, though, immediately became one of the game’s best prospects, while Grichuk dealt with injuries and needed more time to develop. He was ultimately traded to the Cardinals for David Freese and Fernando Salas before the 2014 season.
Grichuk, who was traded again before the 2018 season to the Blue Jays and again before the ’22 season to the Rockies, was roommates with Trout during Rookie-level ball after the Draft and played with him at Class A Cedar Rapids in 2010. Now they’re back together and teammates in the Majors for the first time.
“I was actually just texting him on [Sunday] about the possibility, and then the crazy thing happened less than 48 hours later,” Grichuk said. “I was just kinda messing with him about this possibility. Obviously, what happened with [Taylor] Ward you never want to see and it’s super dangerous. But seeing that happen, I was just messing with Trout like I do every year about him helping get me over here to play with him. And weirdly enough, it happened.”
Grichuk said Trout was the first person to reach out to him after the trade.
“He shot me a text pretty much right away — not letting me know I was traded, but before the trade went through,” Grichuk said. “And then I called him afterward and told him he should’ve told me when he knew. He was trying to give me a hint, but I didn’t get the hint.”
Cron, meanwhile, previously played in the Majors as a teammate of Trout’s with the Angels from 2014-17 and was on the roster the last time the club made the postseason in ‘14. Cron, who was traded to the Rays for Luis Rengifo before the ’18 season, said he enjoyed his time with the Angels and was excited to be back. And just like Grichuk, it was Trout who was the first to text him after he was notified about the trade by Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt.
“He’s not good at hiding things,” Cron said with a laugh. “It was right after the call I got the call from Schmidt. I don’t know how he knew but he texted me right away. So he’s happy, I’m happy and I think it’s going to be good for everyone.”
Cron and Grichuk will have to wait a few weeks before they can play with Trout again, but he is making good progress after having his left hamate bone removed via surgery on July 5. Trout started taking dry swings on Monday and hit off a tee on Thursday and remains on track for a potential return in mid-August.
“I’m pushing to get back faster than ever,” Trout said on Thursday. “The front office made the team better and I’m doing everything to get back out there.”
