CartiHalos

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.

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.

Implying that Snell doesn't suck but Yamamoto does is a choice.