Mike

Trout

We’re living in bizarre times, folks. Trout went hitless on Saturday afternoon, but the Angels somehow found a way to grind out a victory in a low-scoring affair. It’s basically the inverse of the last decade-plus of Angels baseball. Trout has gone 0-for-6 at the dish through two games, but fantasy managers shouldn’t be too alarmed. It’s only a matter of time before the future Hall of Famer heats up. The durability concerns aren’t going away, but he should remain an elite offensive force, when healthy.

Trout is feeling good these days as he’s already blasted two home runs in spring training. The 33-year-old outfielder told reporters he “had a blast” playing in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when the United States lost to Japan in the championship game. Trout said he hasn’t yet been asked to participate in the ’26 WBC, but he plans on playing. He’s looking to play at least 100 games in a season for the first time since 2022.

Trout took Dodgers righty Landon Knack deep the opposite way to right field in the opening frame for his first round-tripper of the Cactus League season. The 33-year-old’s omnipresent health issues aren’t going to simply vanish, but the permanent transition to right field should be less physically taxing on his body. He feels like one of the better values in fantasy drafts this spring since he’s being drafted as a borderline top-30 outfielder, on average, in most leagues. It’s not unrealistic to forecast Trout eclipsing the lofty 30-homer plateau, even if he only plays roughly 120 games.

Trout drew a bases-loaded free pass to drive in a run. The 33-year-old has gotten on base at a .636 clip and slugged .800 in the Cactus League thus far, although the .200 average leaves a bit to be desired.

Trout served as the Angels’ leadoff man today, but that was probably just to get him an extra at-bat before his departure. He’ll play right field for the second time this spring on Friday.

He’ll also DH on occasion. While there’s been plenty of talk about Trout moving to a corner, none of the Angels’ offseason moves appear to have been made with Trout’s move in mind.. As a result, Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak now simply move from the right field depth chart to center. It seems like bad news for Adell, since Moniak is the more accomplished center fielder, but we still imagine the Angels will give Adell the first shot out there. As for Trout, this should somewhat help his chances of staying healthy, though he is possibly in line for more wall interaction in right.

Trout has resumed hitting after his second knee surgery of the year, and he expects to have a rather normal offseason. The position change possibility is noteworthy from a player who has resisted such ideas in the past. Still, it’d be a shame to see him become a full-time DH. It might also be worrisome from a fantasy perspective; many players have struggled to adapt to DHing, and Trout has hit just .214/.388/.458 in 81 career games in that spot. Of course, it probably factors in there that a lot of that DHing has been a product of him being banged up at the time.

It’s just a procedural move, as Trout is going to miss all of 2024 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn left meniscus. This opens up a spot on the 40-man roster, and the Angels used that space to select the contract of reliever Ryan Miller.

Trout spent his 33rd birthday going under the knife for the second time this season to repair a torn left meniscus. The expectation is that he’ll be fully recovered and ready to go for the start of spring training in 2024.

It’s an absolutely devastating development as Trout was on the precipice of making it back to Los Angeles a couple weeks ago before suffering a pair of unfortunate setbacks. The 32-year-old generational talent, who has been limited to just 266 out of a possible 648 games over the last four seasons due to injury, underwent an MRI earlier this week that revealed another meniscus tear in his surgically-repaired left knee earlier this week that will require an additional procedure. The hope is that he’ll be fully healthy and ready to go for spring training.