The Angels need to find out: Can they keep Mike Trout beyond the expiration of his contract after the 2020 season? Or do they need to start preparing for life without Trout and explore the previously unthinkable, a potential trade of an all-time great?



Only after a decision from Trout, 27, can the Angels determine the direction of their franchise. It probably would not include a trade of Trout as long as Arte Moreno is owner, and Moreno gives no indication of wanting to sell the club. But the consensus from conversations with six major-league executives Thursday is that the Angels must get an answer on Trout’s future — and that as distasteful as a trade might be, it would be a better outcome than receiving a draft pick after the second round if Trout departed as a free agent in two years.



The issue bubbled to the surface Thursday after the Angels announced two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani had suffered new damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching...