The Angels are wrapping another lost season, one in which Mike Trout was kept to a career-low 29 games. As he gears up for the offseason, the three-time MVP indicated he was open to a possible position change in an effort to stay healthy.
Trout hasn’t played a single inning outside of center field in more than a decade. It’s possible that’ll change in his age-33 season. Trout told the Halos beat this evening that he’s willing to discuss playing more frequently in the corners and/or getting increased reps as a designated hitter.
“I think there’s definitely going to be some conversations in the offseason. It’s reality,” Trout said (link via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). “I know I have a certain amount of years on my deal and I knew when I signed my contract, I’d eventually move to a corner. But is it next year? I don’t know. But we’ll have conversations.”
The 11-time All-Star elaborated that “everything’s on the table” to attempt to keep himself on the field. “Whether that’s moving to a corner or DHing more, I’ll leave it up to the front office to come up with a plan,” he added. It doesn’t sound as if the future Hall of Famer has yet had any conversations with GM Perry Minasian and his staff, but that could be a key storyline going into the offseason.
Trout still has the athleticism to play a good center field when he’s at full strength. He had decent defensive grades over 681 innings last season. Statcast placed him in the 90th percentile among major leaguers in sprint speed this year. If he were to move to a corner, he should be a defensive asset. Trout logged nearly 900 innings in the corners early in his career. It’s common for center fielders to move down the defensive spectrum as they get into their 30s — both to stay healthy and to make way for younger, rangier defenders up the middle.
The health caveat has been an all too familiar one for Trout. He has fallen short of 120 games in each of the past four years. This is the third of four seasons in which he won’t reach 85 appearances. A right calf strain ended Trout’s 2021 season by the middle of May. He lost some time in ’22 due to back spasms. A left hamate fracture all but ended his season on July 4 last year. (He made a brief return in August before quickly shutting things back down.)
This year may have been the most frustrating of all. Trout went on the injured list at the end of April after suffering a meniscus tear in his left knee. He underwent surgery that came with an initial four-to-six week recovery period. It wasn’t until shortly after the All-Star Break that he was able to begin a minor league rehab assignment. The Angels quickly halted that when Trout experienced renewed knee soreness. Testing revealed another meniscus tear that required a second surgery and officially ended his season.
Making matters worse, Trout hasn’t been able to pinpoint exactly when he suffered the knee injury. It could have come while he was on defense or running the bases. His 2021 calf strain came as a baserunner, while last year’s hamate fracture was a fluke injury on a swing. Those obviously wouldn’t have been avoided by a position change. Still, reducing his defensive workload could take some of the overall toll off his body and hopefully keep him in the batter’s box.
Trout remains an excellent offensive player, even if he has probably taken a step back from his MVP form. He hit .263/.367/.490 over 362 plate appearances last year. While a meager .194 average on balls in play left him with a .220 batting average and .325 on-base mark this season, he drilled 10 homers over just 126 trips to the plate. A heathy Trout clearly remains the best hitter on the team.
The Angels have left fielder Taylor Ward under arbitration control for another two seasons. Ward has had a quietly excellent second half and might be the team’s second-best offensive player. Right field has been a huge weakness. The Angels have gotten a .208/.288/.371 showing from that position. That mostly falls on Jo Adell, who hasn’t made enough contact to come close to the massive expectations he generated as a prospect. Former first-round pick Jordyn Adams is getting a look there with Adell on the injured list, but Adams had a mediocre season in Triple-A.
If the Angels decide it’s best for Trout to move to right field — or to left, with Ward kicking to right — they’d need to find an answer up the middle. That’s far easier said than done. Mickey Moniak has a .264 on-base percentage in 401 plate appearances as Trout’s primary replacement in center. Kevin Pillar is probably retiring at season’s end. Barring a surprise Cody Bellinger opt-out, the free agent class is headlined by Harrison Bader. The likes of Cedric Mullins, Jose Siri, Leody Taveras and Trent Grisham are potential offseason trade candidates, but that’s largely because none of them are coming off great years.
Trout is going into the seventh season of the 12-year extension he signed back in 2019. He’s under contract for $35.45MM annually through the 2030 campaign. Trout, who has full no-trade rights, has previously shot down the idea of requesting a trade on multiple occasions.
Been saying this for a while now this needs to happen. Center is not an old mans position.
How bout, open to discussing a new team, hmmm. Ahahaha!
How is left or right field less of a strain?
It’s a lot easier to keep loose in CF.
1b, DH, LF
Exactly what the Angels need; to pay Cody Bellinger $30+ million to join Trout and Rendon on the shelf…
It’s honestly sad. He trade center just to have a competitive roster and front office.
Just DH Trout already! He’s old and too injury prone. At least at DH, they’ll get his bat in the lineup. Hitting is the only thing he still does well.
“Hitting is the only thing he still does well.”
Did you not read the article? He still runs very well – his speed is in the 90th percentile, and his defense is still above average in center. Yeah, I know that none of that matters if he’s hurt, but still, your statement is wrong.
Trout runs to the IL very well.
Doesn’t matter how quick he is if he can’t play a third of the team’s schedule.
I remember the idiots who said Ohtani was a bust after his third season.
Those people were idiots, and so are you?
Not counting the steroid boys, Trout is number two fWAR in the last 50 years. He’s sure to be number one sooner rather than later.
The closest active player is 37th.
If this is directed at me, nobody cares about his WAR if he can’t stay in the lineup. Also, I wasn’t the guy saying Ohtani was a bust. If you believe that, send me the receipt.
Nobody cares about his WAR?
Only stupid people don’t care about his war.
I guess you don’t read Halo so I’ll say it again:
Nobody cares about WAR IF HE CAN’T STAY IN THE LINEUP.
Or you’re being sarcastic. Then what you said would be really funny.
WAR is a cumulative stat. If you are not on the field how can you be second in WAR over the last 50 years?
He’s played enough to be #2!!!!!
This decade, he can’t stay on the field.
How on Earth is he overrated?
WAR is the most overrated stat. Nick Punto had a higher career WAR than Ryan Howard!
Halo, who said anything about being overrated? I didn’t, why did you? Do you ever read thi Ng s carefully or did age catch up to you?
You have zero legs to stand on. Your WAR argument is sooooo good, that your Angels haven’t come close to playing meaningful baseball in nearly a decade. On top of that, it is a cumulative stat using certain stats weighted more than others – that shouldn’t be at all. Any hardened baseball fan knows this. Clearly you don’t, but calling people idiots when your best player has 1 postseason appearance thanks in part to missing significant time over the years.
There is fWAR and bWAR. When someone use WAR debating the value of a stat, they are proving themselves to be clueless.
As far as fWAR. Howard’s war was about 30% higher. But defense counts. Punts was an excellent defensive middle infielder, Howard was a horrible fielding firstbaseman who should have been a DH.
If you didn’t write overrated, then this isn’t about you.
Trout is not overrated. Because Trout can’t stay on the field, over much of the last five years, he has not been very valuable.
If you agree with that, then we are not disagreeing. Trout has been a once in a generational type player.
He’s not overrated.
Sk8 – His glove was up and down when he was younger. He stole 6 of 7 in 29 games. Other than keep healthy what are all the things that he no longer does well. Moving him to a corner might rest him more but I am not sure it will help with injuries. There are much more rapid directional and speed changes. There are also more things to run into or avoid {rails, fences, tarps} . How many times has he even had an injury caused by fielding. Fielding, I propose will help with agility. Sticking him at DH only might leave him less flexible and there by more prone to injury.
He’s overweight
…Not to mention overpaid & overrated. Ahahaha!
Trout needs to become like 70 percent DH at this point, the injuries have taken a toll on his body…
Cedric Mullins as replacement? Trout has to move to RF/DH
I remember in April when he wanted to get back to stealing bases and was quoted as saying “I think 20-plus would be cool,” Trout con’t “Thirty would be really cool.
Well he was on pace to do so, stealing 6 on 7 attempts through 29 games, but I think hitting the ground hard in addition to manning CF was a sobering reality to his body’s recovery and capabilities.
I get the likely motivation- he wanted to go 35/30 or whatever to help soften the loss of Ohtani, but in truth, Trout should have grabbed most of the DH void left by Shohei and channeled his inner Miggy instead of inner Ricky.
Ricky who? Ricky Bobby? Ricky Henderson? Ricky Shroeder?
Context reads Henderson, but who am I to get in the way of a Mad Lib enthusiast?
Ricky The Weatherman at 11.
There is no shame in being primarily a designated hitter. This is the best way to utilize Trout.
That’s a lot of coin to pay a DH whose offensive stats have started to decline somewhat recently.
Gotta pay him no matter what. Might as well pay him to play. DH gives him the best chance to stay healthy.
It’s fair to wonder how much of that decline is injury related. If they DH him and keep him ‘fresh’, his performance at the plate may improve.
He’s unlikely to ever be peak Trout again, but if you can get 80 or 90% of him out of the DH spot, that would still provide some utility out of his roster spot.
He needs to move off the IR before he can consider a positive change.
Ever since he got married and had a kid….just sayin.
“Women weaken legs”
He’s been a regular since age 20. That’s a lot miles. I think full-time dh is the way to go. He’s also got to lose some lbs. He’s obviously not fat, but losing some pounds to take some pressure off of his lower half can only help.
Trout needs to lose 20 lbs before next Spring Training. Not that he’s overweight, but I’d like to see him in the 220lb range so he is putting less strain on the joints and hamstrings. This may also help him with flexibility and quickness.
The Angels certainly won’t have that conversation with him. Look what happened to Pujols. If the QB of the Ravens can lose 20. Plus a few others, maybe he’ll finally try
Overpay
Glass
I’d bet on Moniak. I’ve been a fan since he was on the Phillies
There’s a Pollyanna following every prospect.
You might be Moniak’s only one.
Are you related to Moniak?
Thought Moniak was from Pittsburgh
Hey Angels fans…this is extraordinary to me. …. but on Monday evening, playing the White Sox, the attendance at the Angels game was still over 35,000…
The worst team in the league playing the second worst team in the league. On Sept 15.
Wow, that is either some major fan loyalty or else Anaheim Stadium gets overflow crowds from Disneyland thinking they will see Trout and Ohtani lol. I mean, no wonder why Moreno doesn’t want to sell the team. Please explain this odd phenomena, anybody who can!!!
That’s “paid attendance”. Whatever that may include. The actual looked to be about 10-15k. They draw 35K like LIV Golf claims to have massive crowds.
Just as an addendum to my post on attendance…compare that 35,000 out to see the worst two teams in the AL, while you have teams battling for the postseason getting much less:
Detroit at Kansas City: 19,000
Minnesota at Cleveland: 17,500
Washington at New York Mets: 17,000
Sad!!!!!!! Sad!!!!!
Gustavo Campenero and Charles Leblanc were both in the lineup. Whenever you hear those names, you are going to buy tickets. Leblanc homered, of course. As you know, you can really never stop Charles Leblanc, you can only hope to contain him.
There are a lot of loyal fans that enjoy game as it is. Whether the team loses or not. It is their team. I am a bit different. I really want them to win. So, when they lose and lose many more I get frustrated as many fans frequenting this site can attest.
I got 2 behind home plate with parking included for $85. Going to see two teams during historic seasons.
Ever notice how many players come from california? Baseball is huge in Southern California. Win or lose, we are Baseball fans. Loyalty to the angels? For me, Yes and great dislike for the dodgers.
I’ve been going to Angel games since the early 1970s. So I’m used to seeing some really bad stuff. But I love baseball and will continue to watch and hey you can’t get much better drama than the angels, right?
And speaking of addendums. Very few who live in California are from california. There are a lot of transplants rooting for their former teams or Grandpa’s team
The Disney factor has to be part of it right? Something to do for baseball fan tourists after they are done on the rides? (Please know I didn’t mean any disrespect to Angels fans; it’s very cool you show up for these games…it’s just an outlier I think in comparison to other cities.)
Ig, No offense taken at all. Nothing you said was wrong.
And hey, Angel fans need thick skin to survive.
Yes. Someone close to me works at the big A.
There is some tourist attraction for sure.
Not as much as you’d think though.
As far as Disney spillover?
Once Disney pries all of your money from your wallet, none left to do anything else
Just learned. $150 just to get in the door at Disney…per park. There are 3 parks!
Japanese tourism has fallen off a cliff at the big A. Lots of Aussies and New Zealanders visiting lately though.
“It’s reality.” An understatement…
Has any Angel ever booked more $/AB the last three years? Oh wait, never mind, seems to be a team competition, actually…
Jo Adell, the Centerfielder of the future. No seriously. The front office and TV announcers(mouthpiece of front office) have strongly indicated that he’ll be the CF next year with Moniak. And they never change their mind once it’s made. They still insist he’s made (and making) huge strides defensively and is working tirelessly at it.
Why settle for corner OF? 1B all the way. theres a big lack of power from the 1B position. But they’d never trade Schanuel.
Schanuel played 3rd base in college. His knock coming out of college was his defense, but he hasn’t looked bad at first.
He will play where they tell him to play.
He’s done. Retire.
It really doesn’t matter what position they put him at. He’s doesn’t actually play centerfield as it is.
Trout to RF? More like the ghost of Trout. Rendon too. Not trying to be too morbid here but in baseball speak these guys are deceased.
This is a practical step going forward, however, part of the issue with bad knees and his persistent back condition is how repetitively swinging a bat will add wear and tear to his body.
“Willing to discuss” move off CF? So if the Angels ask nicely, but he says “no”, they keep running him out in CF when he’s healthy?
I love the spirit but the Angels need to give him a reality check. They have 6 more years on this contract and they have to find a way to keep him in the lineup for 120+ games a year.
Next year he needs to be the primary DH with regular days off. If he can stay relatively healthy in 2025, then you can have a conversation about touching a glove again. Since the Angels aren’t going to be competitive in 2025, it makes sense to be extra careful with him.
What might be a better course of action is playing him a full game, use him as pinch hitter when the splits are opportunistic in the next game, play the 3rd game, then sit him in the 4th game when an extra off day isn’t available. They could get him in 140 games that way with 400 at bats but probably not more than 500.
Impact bats are rare and expensive. Good fielding outfielders are common and inexpensive. I’m not sure I’d take the increased injury risk for the nominal value he brings in the field.. especially when that defensive value isn’t all that difficult to replace.
Taking him out of the field certainly doesn’t eliminate the possibility of injury but it seems like the best shot to get him 500 PA’s in a season and to get the most production over the next 6 years.
It’s such a painful way to see him break down in 2021. I hope he has a comeback season in 2025!
I’d like to see the Orioles make a play for Trout. He fits well on that team and in that lineup. We know they can afford him
Stanton for Trout straight up.
I appreciate that Trout is ready to make that concession for the Halos, but truthfully, I don’t think he should be in the outfield at all. Best thing he can do for his continued health now is to just DH. I know Rendon is likely in that position as well, but with him being a 3rd baseman, he’s the more likely candidate to move to 1st base of the two.
The should make the move and sign someone like Bader, who won’t require a big or long contract. They can look to permanently fill the Center Field slot later. Trout can still hit, if he can get in a 130 game season, he’ll contribute, and earn some of his contract. Putting him in a place where’s he’s likely to break doesn’t serve a good purpose.
Or they can keep pillar as the 4th
Dh He’s got another 5 years come on
Shouldn’t he consider moving off the permanent IL first?
Torii Hunter was a great role model for Trouty. When Torii was slowing down a bit, he willingly moved over. He also showed immense class by mentoring a young Trout in that position. Of course, the Angels didn’t exactly treat Hunter with class in return. But Trout moving away from CF is not anything to be upset about….we all get older. That’s just the way it be.
I’m forever greatful to Mr. Trout for the amazing amount of production he has given the Angels during his career, even if Moreno squandered it. HOF lock. I feel lucky to have been able to watch him play and I hope he still can be productive for years to come.
Now batting for the Phillies…left fielder Mike Trout!
How much will changing defensive positions help if he’s getting injured running the bases? Yeah, I get the “less wear and tear” bit..except he’s been avoiding that while on the shelf so much in recent years.
What he needs to do is discuss options to be off Anaheim! Poor guy’s career has been wasted with that organization.
Forget LF. Give him a 1B glove.
1-“Open to discussing” is idiotic. He should be a F/T DH. He is still a heck of a hitter.
2-Moniak has hit well since 6/1. It is probably just a SSS issue, but he should be an automatic starter next year in CF.
3-Adell should be handed the job in LF as well. Not that he’s done all that well, but it is at the point where they should start him or trade him.
4-Ward should be traded while he still has value, but doesn’t fit well. If I were the RS, I’d be asking about him to be O’Neill’s replacement.
No game plan, no communication, no idea what the heck they’re doing.