Mike Trout is giving the Angels even more roster headaches in opening days of camp

The Los Angeles Angels' decision to move Mike Trout to right field before the 2025 season was a step in the right direction. While he ultimately found himself injured once again due to a fluke injury running to first base, the idea of reducing wear and tear on Trout's body is one that should have been enacted years before.

Now, the Angels and Trout are reversing course, with the star set to once again man center field in 2026. If that actually happens, it throws their entire offseason "progress" into a state of flux as spring training kicks off.

Mike Trout's move to center causes even tougher roster crunch for Angels

The Angels went into the offseason with a plethora of corner outfielders. Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, and Trout were all expected to be in the corners in 2026, so the team traded Ward to the Orioles for Grayson Rodriguez. While that trade is largely seen as a win because the Angels saved money and got a young (but injured) starting pitcher, Trout returning to center field means the team never had to trade Ward, and broke up one of the more intriguing trios of outfielders in baseball for a question mark in Rodriguez.

It also raises questions about how their roster stands. While the outfield is now expected to be a mixture of Adell, Trout, and recently acquired Josh Lowe, what about Bryce Teodosio and top prospect Nelson Rada? Teodosio was one of the best defensive outfielders in all of baseball last season with 10 OAA in just 50 games played, and now the Angels will turn to Trout, who was slightly below average in center field in 2024. Teodosio's bat is a major question mark (at best), so it is fair to wonder if the Angels will want someone so one-sided taking up a spot on the bench?

Most Angels fans will be focused on Rada, the team's fifth-ranked prospect, per FanGraphs. Rada tore up the minor league throughout 2025, and some even argued he should have been up in the majors last season. Rada seemingly had a chance at an Opening Day roster spot in center field before all of the Trout chatter, but those chances have now all but gone away before he has even taken an at-bat for the Angels.

Rada's potential deserves regular at-bats, so the idea of him coming off the bench is gone as well. With Trout back in center, the most exciting prospect for Angels fans will likely spend the season in Triple-A until there is room for him in Anaheim, which will likely come sooner as Trout's body has proven time and time again incapable of handling the full workload of manning center field.