Little did Mike Trout know that by the time his team-bonding event was over last week, four of his teammates would end up being traded to other teams.
Unfortunately, Trout scheduled the outing on a day off for the Los Angeles Angels that also happened to be the same day as Major League Baseball’s trade deadline.
The team was on the East Coast before a series in Baltimore, so Mike Trout saw it as a good opportunity for him and some of his Angels teammates to play a round at his Tiger Woods-designed Trout National private, invitation-only golf course.
According to Golf Digest, Trout National in Vineland, New Jersey, near the slugger’s hometown of Millville, is “known for its $100 million budget, as well as The Dugout, an amenity station built into the ground behind the 14th and 16th teeing areas, so you can watch tee shots from ground level.”
Now, at least among the Los Angeles Angels, they also know it as the place where, one after another, several Angels players discovered they were being traded.
“It seemed like every four or five holes someone was getting the call,” The Athletic reports Trout said.
The Angels traded a third of the players participating in the golf outing
At various points during the golf outing, three of the twelve players learned they had been dealt to another team. Reliever Ryan Zeferjahn was traded to the Chicago Cubs, outfielder Jo Adell was traded to the Cleveland Guardians, and reliever Brent Suter was sent to the Atlanta Braves. Then, while leaving the course in his car, reliever Kirby Yates discovered that the Pittsburgh Pirates had traded for him.
“It was pretty wild watching everybody go,” said Yates. “None of us have ever seen that many guys get traded at once. After somebody went, we just kept saying, ‘All right, who’s next?’”
Zeferjahn said that after Brent Suter found out on the phone he had been traded, he asked Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak, “Can I finish the round? Can I golf?” Mozeliak said he could and to “hit ’em straight.”
“I just instantly started hugging everybody,” Suter said. “Luckily, I was able to play the round and enjoy the last couple hours with the guys before I caught the last flight out of Philly to Atlanta.”