ANAHEIM, Calif. — It’s been more than a decade since Mike Trout took a Major League Baseball diamond at any position other than center field. Sept. 2, 2013, to be exact, when he was just 22 years old.
Going back to the corner outfield has been a topic of conversation in recent years. Trout is 33 years old, and has spent much of the last four years navigating different injuries. But, largely, the three-time MVP has shooed away those questions.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, however, Trout’s tune had changed. Coming off of two surgeries for separate meniscus tears, he sounds ready to evolve.
“I definitely think there’s going to be conversations we have in the offseason,” Trout said. “I know it’s reality. I know I’ve got a certain number of years on my deal, and I knew eventually, even when I signed the deal, that I was going to have to move to a corner. It is what it is.
“Is it next year? I don’t know.”
Trout said he expects to have conversations with the coaching staff on that front. His primary concern is remaining healthy. Trout (knee) played just 29 games this season, after missing half of last season (hamate fracture), a month in 2022 (back) and more than four months in 2021 (calf).
He hit .220, with an .867 OPS with 10 homers, with his final game coming on April 29.
Trout said that he currently feels “great” in his recovery. He’s doing agility work, and started swinging last week.
He spoke to reporters for the first time since re-tearing his left meniscus in late July. One of the biggest unanswered questions was how the injury occurred. The team didn’t have an explanation when it announced the injury on Aug. 1, after he had already re-tore it.
“I can’t really pin down when it happened,” Trout said. “It just got really sore. I was at Family Night here, it got real sore. I felt a little something when I got home. And the next day, it was still sore. … I guess I can’t look back and pinpoint exactly what did it or how I did it.”
Trout said he hopes to have a normal offseason, but will sit down with his family and his team to figure out if he needs to make adjustments to how he prepares for next year.
He felt confident, he said, heading into this season about where he was physically. And how he had trained to get ready for the year. But another lost season presents a need to rethink everything.
That’s why leaving center field — a position he’s played in 94 percent of his big league games — is an option.
“I think everything is on the table,” Trout said. “Ultimately, my goal is to be in that batter’s box, in the field, every single day. Whether that’s moving to a corner, DHing more, that’s just something that I’ll leave up to the front office to come up with a plan.”
(Photo of Trout: Brandon Sloter / Getty Images)
