Mike Trout finally broke the silence. So did Anthony Rendon, in a very different way.

After years of speculation about a possible trade request reached a fever pitch when Shohei Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels for the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency, Trout addressed the topic head-on in his first public comments since the Angels began preparing for the 2024 season at spring training.

“I think the easy way out is to ask for a trade,” Trout told reporters on Monday. “I really haven’t thought about this. When I signed that contract, I’m loyal. I want to win a championship here. The overall picture of winning a championship or getting to the playoffs here is the bigger satisfaction than bailing out or taking the easy way out. I think that’s been my mindset. Maybe down the road, if some things change, but that’s been my mindset ever since the trade speculation came up.”

Trout said he’s also been pushing team owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian to be aggressive in free agency, especially with several top free agents in this winter’s class still unsigned.

Of course, the Angels also have not had the best track record with the free agents that they have signed. Look no further than Anthony Rendon, who has racked up more games missed due to injury than games played with the Angels since signing a seven-year, $245 million deal in 2019.

Not only does he not play much, Rendon also generally comes off as an apathetic curmudgeon to both fans and media. He constantly gave the impression last season that he just doesn’t care, from getting suspended for grabbing a fan by the shirt, to getting in a weird back-and-forth with the team over the nature of the injury that kept him out the back half of the year, to telling a reporter, “no habla inglés today,” and leaving the clubhouse when asked about that injury.

On Monday, around the same time Trout spoke, Rendon had a bizarre exchange with reporters in which he said baseball “has never been a top priority” for him.

Look, it’s perfectly understandable to cite faith and family as being more important than baseball. Many, many people would say the same thing, and I completely respect that — in fact, part of me appreciates his brutal honesty. But Rendon has to know the narrative surrounding him given his public conduct over the past year.

There were so many better ways to answer whether baseball is still a top priority.

Here’s what I would have said: “I feel like I have an obligation to the fans and to the organization to play baseball and I want to do better at that. I want to do better at my job. I want to be out there with my teammates, doing what I’ve been paid so well to do. And I’m sorry if I’ve let anybody down over the past couple of years. But I’m excited to get back on the field this year. It’s going to be great.”