Angels' Mike Trout Makes Huge Concession About 2025 Position Switch

Valentina Martinez | Sep 16, 2024

Jun 3, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout watches from the dugout during the game against the San Diego Padres at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is willing to make a position switch for the 2025 season, according to Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The center fielder is open to moving to either a corner outfield spot or become a designated hitter next year.

Mike Trout said he had been hitting for a few days and he’s looking forward to having a normal offseason.

He also said he’s open to moving to a corner or DH next season.

“We’ll definitely try to explore every option to keep me out there.”

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) September 16, 2024

This isn't the first time a position switch has been proposed for Trout. In March 2022, Angels manager Joe Maddon floated the idea in a spring training scrum with reporters. The next day, during a lengthy meeting with Trout, the idea was scrapped.

Times have changed, and Trout seems to have warmed up to the idea.

On Aug. 1, the Angels announced Trout tore his meniscus in his left knee for a second time and would miss the remainder of the season. Trout underwent surgery after he was placed on the injured list with a torn meniscus on April 30.

Following the procedure, Trout had given a positive update of his progress.

“I feel really good ramping things up,” Trout told MLB.com in June. “I'm happy where I'm at right now. It makes me feel relieved. I’m not putting an exact timetable on it. But once I can do all the tests and run, hit and throw, I’ll be out there.”

“The problem was I wanted to strengthen it around it, but I was doing exercises to try to do that and it was making it really sore,” Trout added. “But now I'm able to progress on that and do exercises without any soreness. It’s been great. I’m jogging and I’ve done little stuff like play catch with no pain. I haven't hit yet. The biggest thing for me is just the running part.”

On July 23, Trout began a minor-league rehab assignment with the Salt Lake Bees. Although he was scheduled to play five innings, the Halos star exited after one at-bat due to soreness in his knee.

Prior to his injury, the 32-year-old slashed .220/.325/.541 and hit 10 home runs. Trout struggled to stay healthy in recent years. He's played just 266 of 648 games between 2021-24, which is less than 50 percent of the season.

In 2017, Trout sustained a torn thumb ligament. It marked his first trip to the injured list in his MLB career. In 2021, Trout played just 36 games that season because of a calf strain.

The last two seasons, Trout was also hampered by injury with back inflammation and a broken hamate. After averaging 145 games a season from 2012-19, he's played a total of 319 games the last five seasons (including the 2020 season that was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Angels superstar is now able to swing a bat, an encouraging sign as Trout readies for the 2025 season.