Mike Trout is in the midst of another solid season with the Los Angeles Angels, but he has uncharacteristically struggled of late. The 10-time All-Star is batting just .132/.306/.211 across 11 games this month after excelling in April and May.
Trout ended an 0-for-14 drought with a bloop single in the team’s 9-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday and also had a 360-foot flyout to deep right field that gave some optimism. The 31-year-old then reached base four times in the Angels’ 9-6 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday.
Trout, who has appeared in 64 of the team’s first 68 games this season after being limited by injuries in each of the last two years, could perhaps benefit from a day off.
Angels manager Phil Nevin said that is the plan and will rest Trout in one of the games against the Rangers this week, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
Angels manager Phil Nevin said he considered giving Trout the day off on Sunday, but he had second thoughts after looking ahead to the Angels’ forthcoming road trip to Texas and Kansas City.
“I’m not going to give it to him yet,” Nevin said. “I’m not going to play him four days on astroturf.”
Nevin confirmed Trout is healthy and his slump can be attributed to timing issues with his swing:
“I don’t want to play him three in a row, so game two or three, we’re looking ahead to that,” Nevin said. “(Trout) feels fine. Right now, some timing issues with his swing. It still feels good writing Mike Trout in the lineup. I’ve seen this before. When he breaks out he goes crazy. I know it’s coming.”
Given his recent injury history, it makes sense that Nevin would want to give Trout a day off during the Angels’ four-game series at Globe Life Field, which uses a synthetic grass playing surface.
L.A. has won seven of their last eight games even with Trout struggling, so their biggest priority is ensuring he remains healthy as they pursue their first playoff appearance since 2014.
Mike Trout among Angels’ leading vote-getting in 2023 MLB All-Star Game voting update
The first 2023 MLB All-Star Game voting update has the Angels represented by Trout and Shohei Ohtani at their respective positions among American League leaders.
Ohtani, who is on the ballot as a designated hitter, leads all AL players with 924,182 votes. Trout is the second-leading vote-getter among AL outfielders with 598,918, which trails only the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge (844,965)
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