We’ve gotten used to seeing Los Angeles Angels star outfielder Mike Trout do amazing things, both at bat and in the field. Trout has been a full-time designated hitter this year due to ongoing knee issues and the decline in his athleticism, but he’s been a productive player this year, hitting 20 homers to go with 55 RBIs while posting a slugging percentage of almost .800.
There is concern, however, on the power side of the equation. Trout is going through one of the longest home run droughts of his exemplary career, with the dry spell extending through 119 plate appearances over the course of 27 games. He’s been stuck at 398 career homers for a while now, with his last one occurring back on August 6th against the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen this kind of power outage from Trout. His previous longest drought happened a decade ago, when the Angels star went 117 plate appearances without a homer in 2015, which is somewhat remarkable given that Trout clobbered 41 that year.
But Trout is a different player now, and he comes with a host of different issues as well. That .233 average is glaringly mediocre, and so is his .420 slugging percentage, although those numbers are balanced to some extent by a respectable OBP of .367.
That’s not a lot of production from the DH spot, though, especially given that Trout’s baseball Q factor as a star is way down from the last time this kind of dry spell happened. Most of us thought we’d be talking about closing in on 500 homers rather than 400 this year, but we are where we are in the Trout narrative.
Then there are the other numbers. You know, the ones that are about that contract. Trout’s $5 million salary back in 2015 knocked it out of the park in the value department, but that $35 million or so he’ll earn this year has to be tough for skinflint owner Arte Moreno to swallow. Trout has five years left on his current deal, and push could come to shove at some point soon when it comes to dollars and cents.
Ironically, it was the Angels’ fiasco negotiations with Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Shohei Otani that have kept Trout’s value from going completely underwater. The Angels are trying to sell tickets and broadcast ad slots with the definition of a no-name roster right now, and while Trout may not bring many fans through the turnstiles, he does still have some name recognition. He’ll break through at some point soon and get to 400 for sure, but beyond that, his future with the Angels is basically anyone’s guess.