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Angels Notes: Soler, Trout, Stephenson

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Slugger Jorge Soler exited today’s Angels game in the second inning, and the Angels later announced that it was due to groin tightness. Soler was already known to be day-to-day due to the groin issue in recent days, but evidently it flared up during this evening’s game against the Mariners. An update on Soler’s status will likely be available after the game, but the issue is made a bit more complicated than it would be otherwise due to the status of Mike Trout.

Soler has typically served as Anaheim’s DH this season, although he’s hit a lackluster .217/.291/.377 (88 wRC+) to this point in the year. In more recent weeks, however, Soler has become the club’s everyday right fielder while Trout returns to the lineup as the everyday DH. As noted by Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register earlier today, Trout is working his way back towards a return to the outfield by doing some drills on the grass. Manager Ron Washington relayed that Trout was feeling good after those drills, but they’ve still been “minimal” and haven’t “really challenged” the veteran star. That would seem to indicate Trout is still at least a few days away from returning to right field on a regular basis in games.

A return to DH’ing on a regular basis would surely be less strenuous on Soler’s ailing groin, but that won’t be possible until Trout returns to the outfield. The three-time MVP is 10-for-25 with three walks, a double, and a homer since returning from the injured list and clearly won’t be sitting in deference to Soler. If Soler isn’t healthy enough to play the field, that could leave the Angels with little choice but to place him on the injured list. Should that come to pass, some combination of Matthew Lugo, Chris Taylor, and perhaps Scott Kingery could see time in the outfield, assuming the Angels don’t call up another outfield option like Kyren Paris.

In other news around the club, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes that right-hander Robert Stephenson has undergone two MRI exams since being placed on the injured list due to inflammation in his right biceps. Bollinger notes that those exams revealed no structural damage, and relays that Stephenson told reporters that he’s dealing with a stretched nerve, which he described as a “freak injury.” The unusual nature of Stephenson’s injury means that he has no clear timetable for return, and the right-hander added that there’s no treatment for the issue other than rest.

That suggests he could be unable to throw for quite a while, which would be an incredibly frustrating turn of events for a pitcher who missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery and made it back to pitch just one inning before he once again hit the shelf. The 32-year-old turned in 38 1/3 dominant innings for the Rays during his most recent healthy campaign in 2023, pitching to a 2.35 ERA and striking out a whopping 42.9% of opponents faced. That showing was impressive enough that the Angels awarded him a three-year, $33MM deal that offseason, though they’ve yet to get much of anything out of it due to Stephenson’s injury woes.

AL West Notes: Trout, Soler, Seager, Gilbert, Miller

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Mike Trout is seemingly nearing a return to action, as the Angels superstar has been taking part in batting practice sessions and running drills, and is set to start running the bases within the next few days’ time.  Trout has been out since April 30 due to a bone bruise in his left knee, and when he does get back, it isn’t clear whether or not Trout will return to outfield duty or if he’ll get more time as a DH in order to help preserve his health.  Halos manager Ron Washington told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters that the focus right now is just on getting Trout healthy, and “once Mike is back, we can have that conversation right there” about his spot in the lineup.

After years as the Halos’ center fielder, Trout began 2025 in right field, already as a way to try and reduce the wear-and-tear on the oft-injured star.  Of course, if Trout takes on more of a regular DH role, that would force Jorge Soler into more right field work, which wouldn’t bode well for the L.A. defense given Soler’s long history of subpar glovework.  While Washington has felt Soler has “done an outstanding job” in 13 appearances as a right fielder this season, the team feels keeping Soler in right field only in limited fashion is the best solution to help Soler’s overall game.  “Running him out there five, six days in a row, we’re not going to do that.  But give him two days, a change from just hitting, will help him focus more,” Washington said.

More injury updates from around the AL West…

  • Corey Seager hasn’t played since May 10 due to a right hamstring strain, though Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News) that the star shortstop could be ready to return at some point this week.  Friday seems to be the loose target date, though Seager could be back earlier given the increased ramp-up of his prep work — Seager has been taking part in running and fielding drills, and also took part in a live batting practice on Saturday.  The plan is to have these baseball activities get Seager into game-ready mode without the need for a minor league rehab assignment.  This is already Seager’s second hamstring-related IL stint of the season, which is why he has been limited to 26 games and 107 plate appearances in 2025.  As usual, Seager has been excellent (.300/.346/.520 with six home runs) when he has been able to play, and the offensively-challenged Rangers could badly use that bat in their struggling lineup.
  • Mariners starters Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert each threw simulated games on Friday, with Miller throwing around 25 pitches and Gilbert going higher with 35.  It was exactly a month ago that Gilbert was pulled from a start due to a flexor strain in his right elbow, and while Friday’s session was a good step forward, the right-hander suggested to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer and other reporters that he has a ways to go in his throwing progression.  This could mean another sim game and perhaps multiple minor league rehab starts before Gilbert is back in Seattle’s rotation.
  • Miller (on the 15-day IL since May 12 due to elbow inflammation) is hopeful of returning as early as this week, though manager Dan Wilson expressed some caution.  In perhaps more of a long-term concern, Miller told Kramer and company that some tests revealed that his elbow was structurally fine overall, but “there’s something in there that causes inflammation and something I can’t just take out without missing the rest of the year.  So this ideally gets me to the end of the year, and then we can reassess and see if I need to clean it up or anything.”  These comments somewhat expand on the lingering health issues the righty hinted at when speaking with the media at the time of his initial IL placement, and the exact nature of these injuries may not be known until or unless Miller does get a clean-up procedure at season’s end.  With a 5.22 ERA over his first 39 2/3 innings this year, something has clearly seemed amiss with Miller’s performance, and there’s naturally some risk in trying to tough out several more months of pitching before properly addressing the problem.

AL West Notes: Trout, Wesneski, Kirby, Gilbert

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When Angels superstar Mike Trout first went on the injured list just over a week ago due to a bone bruise in his left knee, Trout expressed optimism that he would be able to return after a minimum stay. He’s eligible to be activated on Sunday, but that ultimately will not come to pass. Trout told reporters (including Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com) that while he’s resumed swinging a bat with no issues, he has yet to begin running.

The good news is, that could change fairly soon. Trout indicated that he’ll be traveling with the Angels to San Diego for their upcoming series against the Padres this week, and there’s “a good chance” that he’ll start running on that road trip. Trout added that the pain he was feeling in his knee that led to the IL stint has now dissipated, and the veteran is encouraged enough by the progress that a return in the somewhat near future seems to be on the table, though an exact timeline won’t be able to be established until Trout resumes running.

Obviously, the face of the Angels franchise returning to the field will be a key factor in whatever hopes the club may have of clawing its way back into the AL playoff picture. A strong start to the 2025 campaign for the Halos has largely been snuffed out at this point, as they own a lackluster 15-22 record and are currently sitting in fifth place in the AL West. Even side from the odds of playoff baseball in Anaheim, however, Trout’s return to action would be reason for celebration for fans all around the game. A slam-dunk Hall of Famer who was on track to become one of the greatest players in history just a few years ago, Trout has appeared in just 295 games since the start of the 2021 season and will be looking to have his first mostly-healthy campaign since 2022 once he returns from the injured list.

More from around the AL West…

  • Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski went on the injured list yesterday due to discomfort in his right elbow. It’s an ominous diagnosis that resulted in the righty being sent for imaging, but manager Joe Espada told reporters (including The Athletic’s Chandler Rome) this afternoon that while Wesneski’s MRI showed inflammation in his elbow, the club felt that they “couldn’t get a good read of what’s going on.” Espada added that the club’s plan is now to give Wesneski a few more days of rest in hopes that the inflammation will calm down before trying to reassess the situation and decide on next steps. It’s an update that offers little clarity on Wesneski’s path forward, much less a timetable for his return. The right-hander pitched to middling results in six starts for Houston this year after being acquired from the Cubs as part of the Kyle Tucker trade, with a 4.50 ERA in 32 innings of work.
  • The Mariners are without co-aces George Kirby and Logan Gilbert at the moment. Kirby has yet to pitch this year after beginning the season on the shelf due to shoulder inflammation, while tightness in Gilbert’s forearm shut him down near the end of last month. Seattle GM Justin Hollander told reporters (including Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) yesterday that Kirby would make one more rehab start after today’s outing with Triple-A Tacoma. That would put him in line to be activated at some point during the club’s upcoming road trip, perhaps either against the White Sox or the Astros. Gilbert, meanwhile, is further from a return given that he’s still just playing catch. Hollander did suggest, however, that the righty could resume throwing off the mound in the coming days. Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans are filling in for Kirby and Gilbert in the club’s rotation in the meantime.

Angels Place Mike Trout On 10-Day Injured List

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May 2: The Angels formally announced that Trout has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 1. First baseman Niko Kavadas has been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move.

May 1: The Angels are placing veteran star Mike Trout on the injured list, Ron Washington told reporters (including Sam Blum of The Athletic) after tonight’s game against the Tigers. Trout is dealing with a bone bruise on his left knee, though Washington emphasized that the injury is not considered “too serious” and that there’s been no structural damage to the 33-year-old’s knee. As noted by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, Trout suffered multiple meniscus tears in different parts of his left knee last year that required two separate surgical procedures. That’s the knee which he’s currently suffering from a bone bruise on.

While the fact that Trout’s ailment isn’t considered serious by Angels brass is at least somewhat encouraging, it’s hard to expect fans to take much solace in that given Trout’s lengthy injury history. Trout played just 29 games last year due to those aforementioned meniscus surgeries, and missed all but 36 games of the 2021 season due to a calf strain. He played in just 82 games in 2023 due to a hamate fracture, and the closest thing to a healthy season Trout has put together in this decade was his 2022 campaign where he played 119 games. Even that year, however, he was still sidelined for significant time due to back issues.

It’s a run of various injuries that now spans half a decade, and that lack of time on the field has knocked Trout off his pedestal as the game’s consensus top talent after holding that position virtually unchallenged for a decade. The 11-time All-Star and 3-time AL MVP’s numbers speak for themselves, as he’s a career .297/.408/.579 hitter with 387 homers, 214 stolen bases, 85.8 bWAR and 85.7 fWAR over the course of his 15-year major league career. This year, the Angels made the decision to move Trout off of his native center field and into right field in order to hopefully help him stay fresher and avoid injuries. Despite that change, Trout’s first trip to the injured list of the year comes with just 29 games under his belt, the exact same number he finished the 2024 season with.

In previous years, Trout has maintained superstar-level production even in seasons abbreviated by injury. While he was on the field for just 266 of Anaheim’s 648 games from 2021 to 2024, he did slash an incredible .276/.376/.575 (160 wRC+) and accumulate 12 fWAR across those 266 games. That’s not been the case this year, however. In 121 trips to the plate, Trout has actually been slightly below league average with a 96 wRC+. While he’s clobbered nine homers and walked at a healthy (if diminished) 9.9% clip, Trout’s elevated 29.8% strikeout rate and shockingly low .159 BABIP have left him hitting just .187 with a .264 on-base percentage. If he were to play a full season, Trout surely wouldn’t maintain that unbelievably low BABIP and would enjoy enough positive regression to be an above-average overall hitter, but the elevated strikeouts and decreased walks are a legitimate cause for concern about his ability to remain a superstar even if he were to stay on the field for a full campaign.

Of course, all of that will remain largely speculative until Trout gets back on the field for a significant period of time. While the club terming the issue a bone bruise seems to suggest that he’ll be able to come back relatively quickly, it’s a diagnosis that comes with a lot of variability in terms of timetable. On the more optimistic side of things, Cody Bellinger missed about a month when he suffered a bone bruise with the Cubs back in 2023. More concerning are the cases of Anthony Rendon in 2023 and Kyle Tucker last season.

Rendon fouled a ball off his left leg on July 4 two years ago and missed the remainder of the season with what the Angels termed a bone bruise despite the fact that Rendon himself told reporters he had actually been diagnosed with a fractured tibia. A similar situation played out elsewhere in the AL West between Tucker and the Astros last year, where Tucker missed just over three months due to what Houston initially termed a bone bruise but was later revealed to be a small shin fracture. It should be noted that smaller fractures like the ones Rendon and Tucker faced are no different from bone bruises in terms of the treatment prescribed, making the distinction immaterial in some ways.

Even so, that some players can come back from bone bruises after just a month while others could miss half a season or more due to a similar issue highlights the uncertainty that now faces Trout and the Angels. While it seems unrealistic to expect a firm timetable for Trout’s return given both that uncertainty and the veteran’s lengthy injury history, it’s fair to expect a significant absence at this point. Ryan Noda, Scott Kingery, and prospect Matthew Lugo are among the possible options who could be called upon to join Jo Adell and Taylor Ward in the Angels’ outfield mix while Trout is on the shelf, and switch-hitter Gustavo Campero could see more playing time after serving as the club’s fourth outfielder prior to Trout’s injury.

Mike Trout Moving To Right Field

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Angels star Mike Trout met with the team yesterday to discuss his health outlook and potential means of keeping him healthier moving forward. The longtime center fielder now tells reporters that he’ll be shifting to right field in an effort to keep him on the field with more regularity (link via ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez).

Trout’s talents are obvious but his health, or lack thereof, has been the primary focus of his recent career. In the eight seasons from 2012 to 2019, Trout was a fixture for the Angels as their primary center fielder. He never played fewer than 114 games, got into at least 134 games in seven of those eight campaigns and got to 157 contests in four of them. He then played in 53 of the club’s 60 games in the shortened 2020 season.

But he was limited to just 36 games in 2021 by a right calf strain. He played more regularly the following year, but was still capped at 119 contests by back problems. A left hamate fracture was the primary culprit in 2023, with Trout getting into 82 games. Last year, he twice suffered a tear of his left meniscus and only got into 29 games. His production has still been very strong when on the field, but trying to keep him there more often is an obvious goal for the club.

In addition to those mounting injuries, Trout is now 33 years old and will turn 34 in August. His contract runs through 2030 and he therefore still has six seasons to get through, at a premium salary, before it runs its course. Center field is a more taxing position than either of the corners, so moving Trout over to right will detract from his value somewhat but ideally be better for his long-term health than staying up the middle.

The Angels have Taylor Ward in left field and Jorge Soler slated to be their primary designated hitter. With Trout now set to be the regular in right, they will have a question mark in center. With Trout having missed so much time in recent years, Mickey Moniak has gotten plenty of run there with good defensive metrics. He logged 445 innings up the middle in 2023 and then 800 last year. Combined with his previous center field work with the Phillies, he now has 1,465 2/3 innings at the position in his career with three Defensive Runs Saved and eight Outs Above Average.

The bigger question is what we will provide offensively. He seemed to have something of a breakout in 2023, hitting 14 home runs in 323 plate appearances, leading to a .280/.307/.495 batting line and 114 wRC+. However, there were some yellow flags in there. His 2.8% walk rate and 35% strikeout rate were both awful marks and his production seemed to be floating on top of a .397 batting average on balls in play.

Regression seemed to be likely and indeed came to pass in 2024. Though Moniak improved his walk and strikeout rates to 5% and 27.3% respectively, those were still subpar numbers. He hit another 14 home runs, but in a larger sample of 418 plate appearances. His BABIP fell to .272, far closer to the league average, which was .291 last year. His .219/.266/.380 line led to a 79 wRC+.

Moniak has 84th percentile sprint speed and those aforementioned strong grades for his glovework. That perhaps gives him a decent floor, at least capable of running down fly balls and stealing a few bases. There is perhaps a bit of upside with the bat but there’s also a chance that he’s a hole in the bottom of the lineup. The 32.% career strikeout rate is obviously a concern. Zack Gelof was the only qualified hitter to be above that in 2024. It is perhaps encouraging that Moniak has been striking out less over time. From 2021 to the present, his strikeout rate has gone from 43.2% to 39.3%, 35% and 27.3%, though even that last number is still rough.

Another option on the roster is Jo Adell, though there is perhaps even more concern with him than with Moniak. He has hit .211/.268/.381 in his career for a 78 wRC+, striking out 32.2% of the time. That includes a .207/.280/.402 line and 90 wRC+ in 2024, though with some nicer numbers under the hood. He hit 20 home runs last year and got his strikeout rate down to 27.9%. His .244 BABIP was below average and lower than his previous marks, despite decent Statcast data.

Perhaps he deserved better and there’s an offensive breakout on tap for him, though whether he can handle center field defensively is another question, as he has just 122 big league innings there. He has 3 DRS while OAA considers him to have been league average, but it’s hard to read too much into such a small sample of playing time.

It’s also possible that a platoon will form, since Moniak hits from the left side and Adell the right. Moniak has a dismal .176/.210/.244 line against lefties in his career but a more respectable .239/.282/.428 mark and 93 wRC+ against righties. Adell’s career splits aren’t massive but he was noticeably better against lefties in 2024. He only struck out 20% of the time against southpaws while slashing .245/.295/.582 for a 138 wRC+, in spite of a .232 BABIP. Against righties, he struck out 30.3% of the time and hit .195/.275/.345 for a wRC+ of 76.

They do have a notable center field prospect in Nelson Rada, though he is currently 19 years old and struggled at Double-A last year. In the short term, they could bolster the group by bringing in a veteran such as Kevin Pillar, who was with them last year and is currently unsigned.

Perhaps the Angels cane make it work but it’s an area of uncertainty on a roster that has a few of them. Anthony Rendon is slated to miss significant time yet again, leaving the Angels relying on another oft-injured player at third in Yoán Moncada. Shortstop Zach Neto is recovering from shoulder surgery and might start the season on the injured list. The rotation is currently relying on veteran soft-tossers like Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson.

But those things were mostly true even before today’s news, which is a sensible one for the long run. Ideally, this development means that Trout will spend less time on the injured list and more time on the field, which will be good for both the Angels and baseball fans in general.

Conflicting Reports On Angels Outfield Situation

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12:43pm: On the Baseball Insiders podcast, Robert Murray of FanSided says the Angels are not in fact close to trading an outfielder (hat tip to Sam Blum of The Athletic and Beyond the Halo on X)

9:28am: Yesterday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X link) reported that the Angels seemed to be close to trading an outfielder. Nothing has come together yet but it’s possible that talks are still ongoing. It wasn’t specified which outfielder they were about to trade but Feinsand suggested that Taylor Ward would make sense since there have been rumors of other clubs being interested in him. However, Ward’s agent Joel Wolfe told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (X link) that he hadn’t heard anything about trade talks involving his client. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t discussions happening but members of the Atlanta beat like David O’Brien of The Athletic (X link) and Mark Bowman of MLB.com (X link) both report that, if there is an imminent Ward trade, it won’t be to Atlanta.

Ward has seemed like a logical trade candidate for a while now. As the Angels have struggled to compete in recent years, there has been natural speculation about the veteran players on the roster with shrinking windows of club control. Ward will be celebrating his 31st birthday this Saturday and can be retained via arbitration for two more seasons.

If the Angels were pivoting towards a sort of reset, it would make sense to trade Ward for younger and more controllable players. However, despite just losing 99 games in the most recent season, the Halos are clearly trying to contend in 2025. Both owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian made it clear that was the plan for this winter and they have backed that up, acquiring Yusei Kikuchi, Jorge Soler, Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and others already.

In that context, trading Ward becomes a bit more difficult to see. The outfield is already a fairly thin part of the roster, consisting of Ward, Mike Trout, Jo Adell, Mickey Moniak and perhaps Soler. Trout has become increasingly injury prone in recent years, having not played 120 games in a season since 2019. Soler is a poor defender and best suited to be the designated hitter more often than not. Adell and Moniak still have poor offensive track records overall.

Subtracting Ward from that group would make it even flimsier but clubs would certainly be interested if he were available. He has hit .259/.338/.440 over the past four years for a wRC+ of 118, indicating he’s been 18% better than the league average hitter in that time. His defense has also been graded around league average or above, allowing him to play at a pace of about two to four wins above replacement per year, according to FanGraphs.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Ward for a $9.2MM salary in 2025, a notable sum but still a bargain for a player like Ward. Free agent corner outfielders like Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández are likely to command multi-year contracts with average annual values double that. Ward would be in line for a raise in 2026, his final season before free agency, but that figure would still be a good deal if he continues to produce at his usual rates.

A trade coming together would naturally depend on what other clubs are willing to offer. Perhaps the Angels get offered some big league pitching or infield help that they feel is worth taking, but they would then have to pivot to replacing Ward in the outfield mix. The Pirates and Royals were both connected to Ward at the trade deadline with Kansas City reportedly still interested in him as of last month, though the Angels haven’t let go of him yet.

Some fans might hear about the Angels potentially trading an outfielder and jump to Trout but it’s hard to imagine a trade like that coming out of the blue. He has a full no-trade clause and has repeatedly said that he wants to stay and win with the Angels. It’s possible that he changes his mind at some point but there’s hasn’t been any public suggestion that has happened.

His contract is also hard to move from a financial perspective. Trout is paid at superstar rates but hasn’t been able to provide that production in a while. He’s always good when he’s on the field but hasn’t been out there enough to accrue counting stats at his previous levels. He’s set to make $35.45MM annually for another six seasons. Even for a marquee name like Trout, that’s a lot of money for a guy who’s now 33 years old with mounting injury concerns.

Even if Trout wanted to be traded, it would be a tricky spot for the Halos since they would likely have to settle for a middling return on a franchise player or eat money just to get a notable package, which isn’t a great P.R. position either way.

It’s also possible Moniak or Adell are the ones being discussed, though neither would have huge value right now. Moniak has stepped to the plate 908 times in the majors thus far with a .230/.272/.402 batting line and 32.3% strikeout rate. Adell has hit .211/.268/.381 in his career with a 32.2% strikeout rate.

It’s possible to see some improvement from Adell in 2024, as he popped 24 home runs while lowering his strikeout rate to 27.9%. His overall production was still subpar but his .244 batting average on balls in play was well below league average. It’s possible he took a meaningful step forward this past year and will break out with better luck in 2025 but he’s floundered so many times that teams might be reluctant to bet on that.

Angels Open To Everyday Addition At Third Base

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It’s no secret that the Angels’ seven-year, $245MM contract with third baseman Anthony Rendon has not gone as the club hoped it would. While Rendon turned in a phenomenal inaugural campaign in Anaheim during the shortened 2020 season, the four seasons since then have been marred by injury and ineffectiveness. Rendon has totaled just 205 games and 863 plate appearances during that time, and his .231/.329/.336 (89 wRC+) slash line on the rare occasion he’s healthy enough to take the field leaves much to be desired. With two years and $77MM left on the contract, it may seem inevitable that the Angels will continue to attempt to make Rendon work as a regular fixture of their lineup, but MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger relayed comments from club GM Perry Minasian Monday that suggest the club would be open to going in another direction.

“We have to be open to at least looking at that spot and seeing if there are other alternatives make us better,” Minasian said of the hot corner, as relayed by Bollinger. “Obviously, a healthy Anthony Rendon makes us a lot better. But with the last four years being the last four years, we need to take a look and kind of see what else is out there.”

To that end, Bollinger reports that Rendon will enter Spring Training 2025 “competing for a roster spot” and added that Minasian suggested the 34-year-old veteran could be moved into a part-time utility role where he sees time at first and second base in addition to his native position at third. That scenario would likely come to pass if the Angels were to add a full-time third baseman to their ranks via trade or free agency, a possibility which Bollinger notes that Minasian did not rule out. The Angels GM also noted that the club’s internal group of infielders offers a handful of players capable of handling the hot corner like Luis Rengifo, Scott Kingery, and Kevin Newman.

That the Angels would consider moving on from Rendon as their starting third baseman is certainly justified based on his performance in recent years, but still registers as something of a shock given the substantial sum he’s owed over the next two seasons. With that said, this winter does offer some interesting infield candidates the club to bolster its offense with. It seems unlikely that the Halos would greenlight another massive third base signing with Rendon on the books, so it would be a surprise to see them target Alex Bregman in free agency this winter. Looking beyond Bregman, free agency offers a number of interesting options such as Josh Rojas, Donovan Solano, Yoan Moncada, and Paul DeJong. Trade candidates at the hot corner this winter include Nolan Arenado (whose cumbersome contract comes with the same obstacles a pursuit of Bregman would), Alec Bohm, and Brett Baty.

DeJong in particular could be an intriguing fit for the Angels given the fact that Opening Day is in question for shortstop Zach Neto following offseason shoulder surgery. DeJong, 31, has plenty of experience at shortstop and could handle the position for the Halos while Neto is on the mend before shifting over to the hot corner once the youngster returns. Another option could be using the positional flexibility of Rengifo to add a second baseman to the mix. Gleyber Torres is the top free agent available at the keystone this winter, but if the Angels are unwilling to meet his price tag more affordable options include Jorge Polanco, Jose Iglesias, Amed Rosario, and Whit Merrifield. Iglesias and Rosario, much like DeJong, also offer ample experience at shortstop and could help fill in for Neto early in the season before moving off the position late in the season once he’s ready to go.

If the Halos do add another bat to the offense at some point this winter, Bollinger suggests the addition is far more likely to be an infielder than an outfielder. The Angels still intend to give longtime face of the franchise Mike Trout every opportunity to return from injury and re-establish himself as one of the games best players, and while the club has not yet decided whether he’ll continue to play center field on a daily basis or spend more time in the outfield corners and DH going forward Bollinger relays that the club believes they have the position covered given the presence of Jo Adell, Mickey Moniak, and Taylor Ward as possible options in center on at least a part-time basis. Bollinger adds that while Jorge Soler is expected to get the lion’s share of playing time at DH after being acquired from the Braves last month, if the Angels decide to rest Trout at the position or utilize other players there on occasion the Halos are comfortable playing him in either outfield corner as well.

Mike Trout Open To Discussing Move Off Center Field

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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.

Angels Place Matt Moore On Injured List, Select Ryan Miller

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The Angels announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Miller from Triple-A Salt Lake. In a pair of corresponding moves, the Halos placed lefty Matt Moore on the 15-day injured list and transferred Mike Trout from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.

Moore exited his most recent appearance due to an elbow issue. The Angels have not yet commented on the severity of the issue, nor did they even list a specific injury in their formal announcement of today’s transaction. It’s been a tough year for the 35-year-old veteran, who’s worked to a 5.03 ERA as his strikeout rate, walk rate and velocity have all trended in the wrong direction.

From 2022-23, Moore sat 94 mph with his heater and pitched to a 2.20 ERA in 126 2/3 innings, striking out 27.4% of his opponents against a 10.2% walk rate (including a career-best 6.9% walk rate last year). In 2024, however, his average fastball has dipped to 93 mph, and Moore has set down just 19.5% of his opponents on strikes while issuing free passes to 12.4% of batters faced — the second-worst mark of his big league career.

Miller, 28, will be making his big league debut more than six years after being selected by the Diamondbacks in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. He joined the Angels via the minor league phase of last year’s Rule 5 Draft and has pitched quite well. In 62 1/3 innings, he’s worked to a 2.45 ERA with a strong 24.6% strikeout rate against an excellent 5.6% walk rate. Miller has kept the ball on the ground at a 40.9% clip that’s not far below league average and yielded only 1.01 homers per nine frames pitched.

MLBTR Podcast: Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

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The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

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