Mike Trout, known for his highlight-reel catches in center field, will play right field for the Los Angeles Angels this season.
The move is designed to try to limit the wear and tear on his body after he’s missed considerable time the past four seasons due to injuries.
“I knew it was coming,” Trout said before the Angels’ first full-squad spring workout Monday in Tempe, Ariz. “I just wanna be on the field.”
Trout, 33, won American League Rookie of the Year and three AL MVP awards in his first nine seasons from 2011-19. Since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Trout has played more than 100 games only once — 119 in 2022 — limited to 36 games in 2021, 82 in 2023 and 29 in 2024.
Last season, he tore his left meniscus twice but also has been impacted by injuries that include a right calf strain and a left hamate fracture.
ESPN reported Monday that the decision to move Trout from center field resulted from a Sunday meeting with team officials.
Trout has played 1,344 games in center field, 124 in left and 17 in right. He has been a center fielder exclusively since 2014, the season he was named Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year.
He has a career fielding percentage of .995 in center.
If the Angels are to have any chance of competing in the AL West, they need Trout’s bat in the lineup. An 11-time All-Star and nine-time Silver Slugger, he is the team’s all-time leader in home runs (378) and has a career average of .299 and 954 RBIs. He’s also closing in on 2,000 hits with 1,648.
While he hit just .220 last season, his power numbers didn’t wane. Trout had 10 homers and 14 RBIs in his 29 games.
Jo Adell, Mickey Moniak and Taylor Ward are among the candidates to take over as the everyday center fielder in Anaheim.
Trout signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension with the Angels and is under contract through the 2030 season.
–Field Level Media
