Angels manager Ron Washington hints at another position change for injured Mike Trout

The Angels moved Mike Trout to right field ahead of spring training for a reason, and while the switch didn't allow the superstar to avoid landing on the IL, the worst seems to have been avoided with him making significant progress and finally making his return...despite the Angels' caution.

Unfortunately, and in typical Angels' fashion, the position change was made without much forethought. The centerfield market in the offseason was pretty barren, however, the move was made after it completely dried up.

Some options did exist, such as Harrison Bader, who for his career has been an above average defender with a roughly league-average bat, and who this season has put up a very solid .276/.359/.433 line for the Minnesota Twins on a reasonable, one-year, $6.25 million contract.

Instead, the Angels decided to fit a square peg into a round hole by moving Jo Adell, a player who has been defensively challenged in right field for most of his career, into the more demanding center field role. At the same time, cut outfielder Mickey Moniak at the eleventh hour before the season began.

Like Adell, Moniak has failed to live up to his once-promising potential, but at least he could play a competent centerfield. On the season, Adell has been one of the worst defensive center fielders in baseball, posting -5 defensive runs saved to date.

Other players to log time in center have been the recently demoted Kyren Paris, an infielder by trade, former star utility man Chris Taylor who was recently DFA'd by the Dodgers after a years' long slump, and Scott Kingery.

Angels manager Ron Washington's comments about a potential position change for Mike Trout should have fans worried

Ron Washington recently hinted at the possibility that Trout will be playing a different position once he returns from the IL. While he didn't elaborate on which position that may be, and confirmed that no conversations have taken place yet, the options for yet another positional change for the future Hall of Famer are limited.

The only two places Trout could wind up are at DH full time, a tough proposition given Jorge Soler's presence on the roster (though the veteran DH hasn't done much to produce for the majority of the season) or back in centerfield.

Trout is hands down the best centerfielder on the team. While that's not saying much, given the nature of his competition, the Angels painted themselves into a corner with their failure to plan.

Adell's defensive struggles make him a liability, and his .622 OPS on the season means his bat isn't making up for it. Taylor might be able to hold up adequately defensively, but his last productive season with the bat was 2023, and his sky-high K-rate and .middling OPS make him virtually unplayable without a swift and significant improvement. Lugo was returned to Triple-A Salt Lake when Trout was activated, as his bat has cooled significantly after a brief hot streak when he first debuted.

This didn't need to become an issue, however, the Angels' lack of foresight may have put them into a position where they are forced to put Trout back in center and further jeopardize his health. The smart play would be to continue to play him in right and simply eat the defensive drop-off, but the even smarter play would have been to acquire an actual centerfielder so that they could protect their most important player.

Alas, this lack of vision has been a constant issue with the team, and until the problem is rectified, they will continue to be their own worst enemy and hold back any progress toward snapping out of their decade-long doldrums and returning to contention.

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