Mike Trout Surprisingly Out of Angels Lineup for Huge Divisional Game vs Rangers

Aug 23, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout (27) reacts after striking out against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout is out of the lineup to start a series against the Texas Rangers on Monday.

Veteran catcher Travis d'Arnaud gets the start behind the dish for a second straight day, as Logan O'Hoppe will take over as the designated hitter.

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Angels today. No Trout. pic.twitter.com/u5gss596B9

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 25, 2025

It is currently unclear as to why Trout is out of the lineup, but he has had some recent struggles at the plate.

During this past weekend against the Chicago Cubs, Trout went 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts. Across his last 10 games, Trout is .182/.357/.212 with an OPS of .569. He struck out 16 times in this span.

After the sweep against the Cubs, Trout's comments seem to be on par with his mini slump that he is in the midst of.

“The stuff I’m doing in the cage feels good, feels right,” Trout said after the loss. “Just the last few games just fell off in the game.”

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Trout is still working with an .802 OPS and slugging .436 on the year. He has one of the best walk-rates in baseball, doing so 16.4 percent of the time, which puts him in the 98th percentile among active players.

On the other side of the pendulum, Trout strikes out at a massive clip, doing so 30.7 percent of the time. This puts him down in the fifth percentile among qualified players.

Another facet of Trout's game that shouldn't be too surprising from the future Hall of Famer is his ability to consistently hit the ball at an ideal launch angle.

The "sweet-spot" is defined as a launch angle between eight and 32 degrees, and paired with Trout's power and experience, having an ideal launch angle can create runs on the board and souvenirs in the seats. The three-time MVP hits in this 'sweet-spot' 42.5 percent of the time, good for the 100th percentile in MLB.

The hope now is that Trout won't be missing much time and is perhaps taking a rest day on Monday. The Rangers are sitting at 4.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the AL and will have two-time Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom on the bump to start the series.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.