Mike Trout News: 1 stat shows the GOAT's declining, heartfelt moment with Zach Neto

The Angels had one clear goal in the offseason -- acquire more sluggers to compliment Mike Trout in the lineup. The team's .369 SLG in 2024 was the third worst mark in baseball, which was one of the major reasons the team had the worst season in franchise history. Another major reason was obviously Trout playing just 29 games. So, the Angels' lineup must be doing great post All-Star break after Perry Minasian brought in players with pop like Jorge Soler and Yoán Moncada to pair with a much healthier Trout, right? Wrong.

Trout sure is playing every day, and at least Moncada is playing well enough in a lineup with other players punching above their weight like Zach Neto, Taylor Ward and Jo Adell. However, fans are not seeing the vintage Trout anymore.

Mike Trout News: 1 key stat shows the GOAT's declining

SLG killed the Angels in 2024 and is once again biting both the 2025 Angels and their superstar of late. Trout is one of the best sluggers in baseball history, but his 2025 slugging percentage has dipped in a major way. Save for his rookie season in 2011, Trout's 2025 SLG (.444) is the worst mark of his career...despite being a full-time designated hitter.

Like it's been his whole career, pitchers are fine with pitching around Trout in order to try their hand at the batters behind him in the batting order. Trout is taking walks at a high clip, and his OBP is one of the best in baseball. Even with pitchers dancing around Trout, it's quite strange to not see him racking up doubles, triples and home runs when he is seeing pitches in the zone. He is striking out way more than normal, catching way fewer barrels and not hitting balls nearly as hard. Trout is playing every day and that's great, but his lingering knee issue is more than likely affecting his plate appearances.

The Angels are once again spiraling towards the bottom of the standings here in August, and Trout's month epitomizes that. The past calendar month (from July 22nd on), the Angels' .380 SLG ranks 22nd in baseball -- far below their season average of .407. Meanwhile, Trout has a .362 SLG in August -- the worst of any month this season, save for his four games played in March (granted, he did just play two games in May). 2025 has been Trout's worst slugging year, and August has been the worst slugging month of his worst slugging year.

Trout is signed through 2030, and everybody who even casually follows baseball should be hoping that Trout's dip in production is anomalous. If not, it means he's falling off that proverbial cliff.

Mike Trout News: Heartfelt moment with Zach Neto

It's not all bad for this iteration of the Angels. The team is clearly tight-knit, with many of the players often referring to how close they all are. The chemistry in the clubhouse is one of the major reasons Minasian decided to keep the group together at the trade deadline, and it is materializing day-in, day-out.

When Zach Neto needed to be removed from a game after getting hit on the wrist, the new face of the franchise was rather distraught. Well, Trout was there for his teammate.

Luckily for Neto and Angels fans, the shortstop did not need to be held out for long with wrist soreness. Everybody, including Neto, feared the worst in the moment, but everything will be alright. Trout has not been as lucky with injury scares of late, so he knows better than anybody what needs to be said to a player who's anxious about his health.

The 2025 Angels are once again floundering, but they are much, much more inspiring than previous squads. Trout's been much more animated in the dugout and showing more leadership this season, a phenomenal sign for the team moving forward.

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