The Angels are down both of their presumptive Mike Trout centerfield replacements

It's difficult to say if the Angels had best laid plans with regards to their post-centerfield Mike Trout era.

After the offseason, Trout and the Angels mutually agreed that he will play predominantly in right field for 2025 and likely beyond -- which, at the time, left their outfield unit with Trout and Taylor Ward as their corner outfielders then Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak patrolling in between them (plus Jorge Soler in a corner every now and again). Out of nowhere, Kyren Paris tore up spring training, was selected to the Opening Day roster as a centerfielder, and will now be bailing out Perry Minasian and his front office staffers big time. Why? A few days after Mickey Moniak was informed that he was being released, Jo Adell pulled up with left hip tightness and had to leave a game against the White Sox. It is unclear how long Adell will be out for as of now. However, it stands to reason that he will miss at least a couple games with this non-contact hip injury

that was sustained while he legged out a ground ball single.

The Angels are down both of their presumptive Mike Trout centerfield replacements

Trout unequivocally needs to stay in right field if the team truly believes that he will be able to post more if he does not play centerfield, which he iconically played for the vast majority of his career (if anything, that move should have happened a year or two prior to 2025). Imagine the optics if the Angels move Trout back to centerfield full-time...only for him to get injured again. Heads would roll.

Minasian was banking on the relatively unproven and definitely injury-prone Adell, Moniak, and even Luis Rengifo at the beginning of camp. He bafflingly did nothing else in terms of adding centerfielders to that group. Well, let's hope that Paris and Matthew Lugo (who will presumably be called up if Adell needs to hit the IL) can lift up their bootstraps and try their best to follow in Trout's footsteps! Maybe Rengifo even dusts off the ol' outfield glove, even with his hamstring tweak that he is still working his way back from, and moves off his natural position at third base to fill in.

Paris and Lugo are both 23-years-old, never played in the Show with any consistent playing time (Lugo has yet to make his debut), and are not natural centerfielders. Neither were allotted an extraordinary amount of game reps in center during spring training, given that the team needed to get Adell (and Moniak to an extent) acclimated with the move from right to center. Paris became a beloved Angels player since he was the team's best and most clutch performer during camp, but an every day centerfield job might be asking too much of him.

The injury bug has bit the Angels even though they have only played 2 games thus far, but hopefully they do not tempt fate by moving Trout back to centerfield with any regularity...despite how reassuring it would be to see him back in the place where he blossomed into one of the sport's greatest players.

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