Mike Trout's usage needs to change

[CartiHalos]

While Ohtani leaving is certainly a heartbreaker, there is a silver lining in everything. I think his absence will open up the DH spot for Trout so we can get the most value out of him as possible for the duration of his contract. I understand this is a hot topic because, 1. He's Mike Trout and 2. He was a franchise center fielder for the better part of a decade, but it's time Mike Trout's defensive role is changed.  His last 5 defensive seasons have been, for lack of a better term, a struggle.  from 2019-present, his center fielding has surmounted to -16 DRS, 7 OAA, and a -0.8 arm runs above average. Compare that to a player like Mickey Moniak - who put up 6 DRS last year, 5 of which was in CF - or Jo Adell (3 DRS in his career as a CF).  I think it would be mutually beneficial to Trout and the Angels, not to fully shift him to a DH, but to start giving him more DH starts in combination with occasional CF and corner OF starts.  Clearly he's battled injuries throughout the last couple years, and I think part of that could possibly be attributed to him being a full time CF.  Moniak/Adell/Potential FA Signing taking a chunk of the CF innings for the next couple years could hopefully keep Trout healthy enough to keep the bat in the lineup without losing much defensively.

[Jeff Fletcher]

Trout was actually a lot better in CF last season than in previous seasons. I was working on a story about it when he got hurt, so I never wrote it. 

[angelsfan100]

This will be a very interesting thread. Buckle up. Also welcome.

 

[Second Base]

I think the difference between what can be done and should be done is worth considering. 

- Mike Trout can still play a very solid CF defensively. 

- Should Mike Trout be playing CF anymore given the toll being an elite professional athlete has taken on his body? 

The Phillies moved Harper to 1B because despite his prowess in the outfield, his bat is more valuable to the team. We saw the Twins do the same with Joe Mauer back in his prime. I'm not suggesting moving Trout to 1B, and the wrist injury really was a freak thing that probably couldn't be avoided. But maybe rotating between LF and DH could be good for the guy. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Second Base

[CartiHalos]

26 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Trout was actually a lot better in CF last season than in previous seasons. I was working on a story about it when he got hurt, so I never wrote it. 

I also learned this while looking at the stats for this very post. He really hasn't been great since like 2015-16.  However, was supposed to be more about prolonging his health than whether or not he's a serviceable enough CF.

[REDneck]

Here's the plan.

Sign Ohtani for 40M AAV and have him split DH duties with Rendon and Trout.

So then they have 100M+ tied up for a designated hitter.

[Pancake Bear]

Trout has batted around .200 career as a DH. He shouldn't DH aside from the rare break. I'd rather just give him the day off. 

[Jason]

6 hours ago, REDneck said:

Here's the plan.

Sign Ohtani for 40M AAV and have him split DH duties with Rendon and Trout.

So then they have 100M+ tied up for a designated hitter.

Imagine paying Ohtani that kind of money and just give him limited ABs. 

[CartiHalos]

7 hours ago, Pancake Bear said:

Trout has batted around .200 career as a DH. He shouldn't DH aside from the rare break. I'd rather just give him the day off. 

He's only DH'ed 76 games, and he still gets on base at a near-.400 clip in those games. Why would you willingly leave that out of your lineup? Also, is the implication here that his hitting ability changes based on his defensive position?

[Rollinghard]

Why not 1st base?

[Angelsjunky]

How many of Trout's injuries can be directly or indirectly linked to him playing the outfield? Certainly not this past year. That big one back in 2017 was a base-running injury. Can't remember 2018-22, though I vaguely remember him hurting himself running the bases last year or the year before.

Playing outfield, even centerfield, is pretty low impact. I mean, how many plays does he get per game? Usually half a dozen at most? The risk is there to pull a hammy, but far less than batting and base-running.

 

 

[T.G.]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

How many of Trout's injuries can be directly or indirectly linked to him playing the outfield? Certainly not this past year. That big one back in 2017 was a base-running injury. Can't remember 2018-22, though I vaguely remember him hurting himself running the bases last year or the year before.

Playing outfield, even centerfield, is pretty low impact. I mean, how many plays does he get per game? Usually half a dozen at most? The risk is there to pull a hammy, but far less than batting and base-running.

 

 

I asked this in another thread... It's a good question.

I mean... maybe we should just wrap him in bubble-wrap?

[CartiHalos]

2 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

How many of Trout's injuries can be directly or indirectly linked to him playing the outfield? Certainly not this past year. That big one back in 2017 was a base-running injury. Can't remember 2018-22, though I vaguely remember him hurting himself running the bases last year or the year before.

Playing outfield, even centerfield, is pretty low impact. I mean, how many plays does he get per game? Usually half a dozen at most? The risk is there to pull a hammy, but far less than batting and base-running.

 

 

I don't think any of the injuries so far have been because of CF, but full seasons of playing could make him slower to recover and potentially be an injury risk in the future.  Clearly it's taxing enough that he was taking, like, a day off a week last season before he got hurt. I'd just prefer to see him in the lineup in some capacity is all.

[Lazorko Saves]

1 hour ago, T.G. said:

I asked this in another thread... It's a good question.

I mean... maybe we should just wrap him in bubble-wrap?

Wait til the "wear and tear" crowd finds out he injured himself in the batter's box this year.  The most obvious move is not to DH him, but to DH *for* him!

We can put Trout next to grandma's ugly couch that no one is allowed to sit on.

[Slegnaac]

8 hours ago, Rollinghard said:

Why not 1st base?

He still has more value as an outfielder.

[Jason]

6 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

How many of Trout's injuries can be directly or indirectly linked to him playing the outfield? Certainly not this past year. That big one back in 2017 was a base-running injury. Can't remember 2018-22, though I vaguely remember him hurting himself running the bases last year or the year before.

Playing outfield, even centerfield, is pretty low impact. I mean, how many plays does he get per game? Usually half a dozen at most? The risk is there to pull a hammy, but far less than batting and base-running.

 

 

This is correct but having him play the field daily will just increase his odds of more injuries. Sadly, he’s just an injury riddled player and that isn’t going to change as he ages. So it doesn’t matter how the team uses him. 

[arch stanton]

Over the past few seasons they've allowed Ohtani to keep himself in the lineup pretty much every game while at the same time giving Trout scheduled off days. Maybe it's time to tell Trout they trust him enough to ask for an off day or DH day when he feels like he needs it with a few scheduled exceptions such as they getaway day at the end of a road trip, etc

[totdprods]

22 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

How many of Trout's injuries can be directly or indirectly linked to him playing the outfield? Certainly not this past year. That big one back in 2017 was a base-running injury. Can't remember 2018-22, though I vaguely remember him hurting himself running the bases last year or the year before.

Playing outfield, even centerfield, is pretty low impact. I mean, how many plays does he get per game? Usually half a dozen at most? The risk is there to pull a hammy, but far less than batting and base-running.

There’s also roster construction to consider. Losing your CF means having to move over a corner guy who won’t be as good defensively, or promoting an internal option or utilizing a 4th OF way more than needed. 

Purely hypothetical (since we don’t ‘need’ this) they could sign a Michael Taylor or Kevin Kiermaier who brings plus-plus CF defense, Trout in a corner, other options in other corner.

[CartiHalos]

3 hours ago, totdprods said:

There’s also roster construction to consider. Losing your CF means having to move over a corner guy who won’t be as good defensively, or promoting an internal option or utilizing a 4th OF way more than needed. 

Purely hypothetical (since we don’t ‘need’ this) they could sign a Michael Taylor or Kevin Kiermaier who brings plus-plus CF defense, Trout in a corner, other options in other corner.

I do like Kiermaier a lot, but also as I mentioned the best defensive centerfielder on our roster last year was Moniak. If he's in our long term plans then he could handle it in tandem with Trout.

[ettin]

On 11/21/2023 at 10:44 AM, T.G. said:

I asked this in another thread... It's a good question.

I mean... maybe we should just wrap him in bubble-wrap?

So are you saying that Trout is the reason we are always on the outside of the bubble, come playoff time? 

[T.G.]

10 minutes ago, ettin said:

So are you saying that Trout is the reason we are always on the outside of the bubble, come playoff time? 

i prefer bass fishing.

[totdprods]

37 minutes ago, CartiHalos said:

I do like Kiermaier a lot, but also as I mentioned the best defensive centerfielder on our roster last year was Moniak. If he's in our long term plans then he could handle it in tandem with Trout.

Right, I like Moniak there too, and obviously at this point he’d be odds-on favorite to take CF if Trout wasn’t able, but I was merely pointing out that having Trout in a corner gives the Angels incentive to also have a full-time CF option (be it Moniak or external), which is easier to absorb injuries rather than the way they have it now - needing to scramble for CF depth when Trout gets hurt and pulling from the corners or overplaying bench players.

It allows them to layer their depth much more efficiently if Trout is locked in at a corner. 

[angelsfan100]

On 11/21/2023 at 1:40 PM, Lazorko Saves said:

Wait til the "wear and tear" crowd finds out he injured himself in the batter's box this year.  The most obvious move is not to DH him, but to DH *for* him!

We can put Trout next to grandma's ugly couch that no one is allowed to sit on.

I laughed harder at this than I should