LA Angels: 3 Potential options in place of Mike Trout

Justin Upton is not a center fielder.

He never has been.

But what’s interesting, is that he actually played center field on Wednesday.

When Shohei Ohtani moved from the pitcher’s mound, Justin Upton shifted over to center. He moved back as soon as Ohtani’s night was done.

Upton won’t be seeing very much time in center, but on days where Ohtani pitches, it’s a possibility.

If Ohtani’s going to go to left, there are bound to be situations where Upton will shift over to center.

He has the arm for center field, he just doesn’t have the speed.

Sure, Upton won’t be playing much center, and really only will in these situations involving Ohtani.

However, those situations may come up, and he needs to step up in general.

I like his eight home runs heading into Thursday, but his .202 batting average and .284 on-base percentage heading into Thursday is unacceptable.

The former number one overall draft pick is far too talented to be putting up the numbers he has since 2019.

All in all, it’s not just Upton. The team is losing Trout in a time where the team was already losing. This is going to be a crucial six to eight weeks, and the Angels need any help they can get to have Trout return to a playoff run.