3) Phillies trade rumor to squelch: Mike Trout will not be making a homecoming
A deal that would be even cooler than Paul Goldschmidt would be Mike Trout coming home. The die-hard Eagles fan seems to always be linked to the Phillies in the event that the Angels would ever trade him. While it's not unreasonable to think it could happen sometime in Trout's career, it's not happening now.
First of all, the Angels won't be sellers. The Angels are currently six games over .500 and 0.5 games outside of the third Wild Card spot in the AL. GM Perry Minasian has said that it's pretty self-explanatory whether Shohei Ohtani will be available at the deadline. If Ohtani isn't available, there's no way Trout will be.
Second of all, that contract is pretty hard for even a team like the Phillies to swallow. Trout will be making $35.45 million annually through the 2030 season. Even with how awesome Mike Trout is, that's steep on top of the long-term money that the Phillies have committed to a whole slew of players.
The contract and the fact that he's having a down season would make Trout an easier player to acquire, but it's just not happening yet. The Angels won't want it, and I'm not fully convinced the Phillies would do whatever it takes to make it happen.
A fun story that might have a fairytale ending, but we'll have to wait a little longer to find out.