Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout announced that he will be switching positions this year, from centerfield to right field. Trout has been a career center fielder since his major league debut with the Angels in 2011, and has only played right field 17 times.
While speaking with reporters before the team’s first full-squad workout at the Angels’ spring training camp on Monday, Trout said: “I knew it was coming. I just wanna be on the field .. [We] kind of just threw everything on the table, as in what’s best for me body-wise [to] keep me on the field, and came to the conclusion that I’m gonna go to right field. I like it, try it out, see where it goes.”
The 33-year-old Trout has dealt with a multitude of injuries throughout the last several years. Since 2019, he’s played more than 100 games just once. He said of his new position: “I mean, just look at my last couple year. Just trying to preserve the legs and go out there and run some balls down in right. That’s what we came to. I’m with it .. It’s gonna be fun. I’ll enjoy it. Like I told them, I’m gonna go out there and just be as comfortable as I can. If I need to get early work, just to work on some things, get more comfortable, I’ll do that.”
Trout played in nearly 90% (1,212 of 1,356) of the Angels’ games in his first nine seasons, hitting .306 with 297 home runs, 197 stolen bases and 782 RBIs over that span. However over the last four seasons, Trout appeared in just 31% of the Angels’ games due to multiple injuries. The 11-time All-Star and three-time MVP hit .276 with 76 home runs, 11 stolen bases and 156 RBIs during that stretch.
Trout remains under contract through 2030, with an annual salary of $37.1 million, through the $426.5 million pact he signed in 2019.
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