Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is returning to center field this season, but how he'll do is a big mystery.
Every team is going into the season with mysteries and unknowns, but some are bigger than others. Rhett Bollinger from MLB.com came up with one big unknown for every team in the league, and the Los Angeles Angels have a big one that’s about their former superstar outfielder returning to All-Star status.
Can Mike Trout return to All-Star status?
Actually, this is the wrong question to be asking. Not that the Angels wouldn't love it if Trout made this year’s All-Star game, but the real unknown here is about keeping Trout healthy given that he wants to play center field again.
Trout’s entire season will be watched with fingers crossed. His spring training performance was impressive, as he hit 30 feet per second, which is considered elite sprinter’s speed, for the first time since 2024. Trout also believes he’s fixed some issues in his swing mechanics after posting a slash line of just .232/.359/.439 last season.
But Trout also hit 26 home runs to go with 64 RBIs, and the Angels would probably be perfectly happy with a slight improvement in that performance. It’s not entirely certain where Trout will land in the lineup after Opening Day given his tentative injury situation, and one thing the Angels certainly don’t lack is power hitters.
The big emphasis will be on keeping him healthy, and getting 120-140 games out of Trout with some in center field and others as DH would probably make new manager Kurt Suzuki ecstatic. He’s got plenty of other positional issues to worry about, not to mention a fragile pitching staff where injuries could strike almost any hurler at any point in the season.
So what’s the forecast here for Trout? He’s 34, so it would be silly not to think there won't be at least one stint on the injured list. The goal here would be to keep these stints as short as possible, then make him DH when he does strain or pull something.
An improved stat line is a reasonable expectation, and .250 with a slightly higher OBP is probably the line of demarcation there. Add in 30 home runs with 75+ RBIs, and that would be an impressive season, especially if he plays in that top end number of 140 games.
That could make Trout a sentimental favorite as a potential All-Star addition, and it would be great for both the game and the Angels to see him make that kind of comeback.