This week's mailbag addre ses a potential trade, valuing , how the White Sox and Cubs move forward, what an extension might look like, 's future, MLB's popularity, and much more. Fred asks: With the ever increasing annual salaries MLB stars are receiving, $36M just isn't what it used to be. A suming he is Zack Thompson Jersey amenable to a trade, is this the offseason someone (here's looking at you, Dave Dombrowski) takes a chance on Mike Trout's still tremendous upside? His salary could be offset with a bad contract or two (hello ). He is far le s expensive than will be. $36MM is still a very large salary in MLB, currently tied for . The actual CBT hit for a new team on Trout's remaining six years and $212.7MM would be similar at $35.45MM. As an aside, four players signed contracts with $35-36MM AAVs in 2019: Trout, , , and . Five years later, only five players have managed to push into the $40MM realm, moving the needle modestly in this regard. Trout that asking for a trade would be the "easy way out," but he also didn't rule out a future change of heart. The Angels are on pace to lose about 95 games this year, they haven't been to the postseason since 2014, and there's little reason to expect the team to be good next year. Despite his longstanding loyalty, it's plausible Trout could change his mind at some point. Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription BENEFITS Acce s weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco. Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony. Remove ads and support our writers. Acce s GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker Packy Naughton Jersey