2 out-of-the-box internal options to take over centerfield from Mike Trout

While the Angels and Mike Trout have finally come to the obvious decision that he must move off of centerfield to preserve his body over the grind of a 162-game season, a large question looms over the franchise -- who plays centerfield now that the Halos' franchise player is primarily a right fielder?

In typical Angels fashion, it's a question without an easy answer. The team pursued outfielders throughout free agency, whiffing in the process, but none of those would-be solutions were actually centerfielders. In fact, the prize the Angels sought, Anthony Santander, is a right fielder and a poor one at that.

The lack of foresight makes you wonder if this was a long-term plan or a spur-of-the-moment decision, and the options to replace Trout as the everyday centerfielder all have some warts.

The most logical candidates are Jo Adell, who finally got his act together to be competent defensively in right field...and Mickey Moniak, whose extreme platoon splits and otherwise unreliable offensive production make him a less-than-ideal choice despite his defensive chops.

Internally, there are two other candidates who could be out-of-the-box solutions. Neither of these players is guaranteed to be a good fit, in fact, they could be disasters, but they're at least worthy of a closer look this spring.

Could non-roster invitee Tim Anderson win a job with the club as the centerfielder?

Shortly before the Angels broke the news that Trout would be moving to right field, another report came out about the team is giving Tim Anderson reps in center this spring.

Anderson, a two-time All-Star and former batting champion, has played 948 games at shortstop over the course of his career and just two at any other position (second base).

Once a dynamic athlete, Anderson turns 32 in June and has suffered a litany of injuries in recent years. However, if he's able to show that he's retained a decent amount of his previous athleticism, there's a chance he could handle the position satisfactorily from a defensive perspective.

Offensively, it's been a while since he's been a productive player. He posted a 110 wRC+ in 2022, but he followed that up with a mark of 60 in 2023 and 27 in 2024. He wound up getting released by the lowly Miami Marlins.

Anderson's spoken at length about how the injuries piled up and created issues with his swing, which led to a snowball of confidence issues as he dealt with issues on and off the field. He's also confident that his time away from the game after his release has given him clarity, and he's used that time to get to work ironing out the mechanical issues with his swing.

If he's correct about fixing his swing and can return to the dynamic and athletic player he once was, there's a chance that he could be a real force in centerfield. If that were to happen, Perry Minasian would look like a genius.