Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout is trying to bounce back from several injury-filled seasons, and his first home run of spring training on Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds was an encouraging sign after knee surgery. Trout was the designated hitter in the game, and he spoke on how it felt to hit one out.
“It felt good,” Mike Trout said, via the Associated Press. “Just having some good at-bats, seeing pitches and got a good result.”
Trout is still a very good player when he is on the field, but he only played 29 games last season and has only played over 100 games once over the past four seasons, according to FanGraphs. In an attempt to stay on the field more, Trout is moving to right field, hopefully lessening the burden on his body defensively. He spoke on that move and what the adjustment will be like for him.
“Looking forward to it, getting some reads off the bat,” Trout said. “It’s different visuals you’ve got to work on and then you’ve got different angles on the line at different stadiums. It’ll be an adjustment but I’m enjoying it.”
It would be reasonable to assume that Trout is going to see a considerable amount of time as a designated hitter. It might be wise for the Angels to get him some days off of his feet in the outfield while still keeping his bat in the lineup.
The expectations for the Angels this season are not high, but the recipe for them to surprise involves Trout staying healthy for a considerable amount of time. If he does, there are enough intriguing players in the lineup to be potent. Pair that with a rotation that has a veteran in Yusei Kikuchi, along with young arms with upside in Jose Soriano and Reid Detmers, and the Angels could surprise some.
Still, the biggest priority for the Angels should be to keep Trout healthy.
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