Angels Manager Ron Washington Provides More Details on Mike Trout Position Change

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington speaks with the media at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels announced superstar Mike Trout would be making the move to right field for the 2025 season in an effort to keep him healthy. Manager Ron Washington revealed the Angels were particular in selecting which outfield corner for the face of the franchise.

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Ron Washington said the Angels picked RF instead of LF for Trout because RF is smaller at Angel Stadium. They think his arm will be fine in RF if he’s aggressive.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) February 17, 2025

The Angels picked right field because it's smaller at Angel Stadium, giving Trout the freedom to be aggressive without having to overuse his arm.

In previous seasons, the idea of making a position switch was dismissed by the Angels superstar. Trout insisted he was a center fielder.

Since 2012, Trout had remained in the familiar outfield position. However, the 2021 campaign was the onset of an injury-riddled couple of years. From a calf strain to meniscus tears, Trout could not stay on the field.

“Look at my last couple years,” Trout said before the Angels’ first full-squad workout of the spring, via The Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher. “Trying to preserve my legs and go run some balls down in right. That’s what we came to and I’m with it.”

A position change for Trout was always likely as general manager Perry Minasian and Washington held a meeting with the outfielder Sunday to discuss the inevitable.

“It went great,” Trout said of the meeting. “Kind of just threw everything on the table, as in what’s best for me, body-wise, to keep me on the field. Came to the conclusion that I’m going to go to right field. I like it. Try it out. See where it goes.”

Lo and behold, Trout is now embracing change and will be the Halos' right fielder for the 2025 season. The Angels know the team has their best chance of winning with Trout on the field, and now the superstar is ready to get acclimated with his new position this spring.

“I talked to talk to a few guys, and I’ll talk to Torii (Hunter) when he gets here because he did it,” Trout said. “There's a lot of guys that move to right field that I'm gonna talk to. Just see the difference and just go out there and get comfortable in spring.”

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