Trout Open to Position Change As $426M Contract Looms Over Angels

Mike Trout, widely regarded as MLB’s best player before the arrival of Shohei Ohtani, is looking to change positions to stay on the field after a four-year period heavily disrupted by injuries.

Speaking Monday in his first public remarks since July, the 33-year-old Angels star said he is open to shifting from his customary center-field position to a corner outfield slot, as well as playing as a designated hitter, in order to stay in action. Trout has played just 266 games since the start of the 2021 campaign—less than half of the team’s total schedule over that time—and only 29 contests this year as he has battled a series of maladies, including most recently a torn meniscus in his left knee.

“My goal is to be in that batter’s box, in the field, every single day,” Trout said. “Whether that’s moving to a corner or DH-ing more, that’s something I’ll leave up to the front office to come up with a plan. Where I’m at and what’s happened in the last few years, I’m definitely going to try to explore every option that can keep me out there.”

Trout’s $426.5 million contract extension—signed in 2019 and running through 2030—remains the second-largest player deal in MLB history behind Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million pact with the Dodgers. The figure for Trout will likely be eclipsed this offseason by Yankees outfielder and forthcoming free-agent Juan Soto. But having a player of Trout’s talent back on the field starting with the 2025 season will no doubt be a marketing boon for the league, even as the low-key personality of the three-time Most Valuable Player award winner has been a subject of extended scrutiny.

“I knew when I signed my contract, I’d eventually move to a corner [position]. But is it next year? I don’t know,” Trout said. “We’ll have conversations.”

Team in Transition

Trout’s comments were entirely in the context of staying with the Angels, even as the team is making little progress in its on-field rebuild.

Currently standing in last place in the AL West, the Angels trail even the low-spending and soon-departing A’s. With six additional losses, the Angels will set a franchise record for their worst single-season record, highlighting a ninth-straight losing campaign. 

California officials, meanwhile, said last month they are initiating a new audit on the Angels’ stadium lease with the city of Anaheim, as well as a failed land sale between the team and the city.