Mike Trout is healthy this year and leads the major leagues in home runs.
So far, that hasn’t been enough to help the Los Angeles Angels weather Shohei Ohtani’s departure.
If it seems like Trout and the Angels can’t catch a break, this is certainly another example. The three-time MVP finally looks like his old self, but with Ohtani’s departure, Los Angeles is eight games below .500.
Trout, 32, has reached the postseason just once, a decade ago. From 2012 to 2019, he won those three MVPs and finished second in voting four times. He’s already in the top 50 all-time in Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement version.
Trout is firmly on the Hall of Fame path and has a chance to surpass 400 homers this year, but what he accomplishes at age 30 will go a long way toward determining exactly where he ends up historically. Although he once surpassed luminaries like Joe DiMaggio and Ken Griffey Jr. in career WAR, injuries robbed Trout of some of his prime. He hasn’t played more than 140 games since 2016 and played in just 237 in three seasons from 2021-23 — part of the reason the Angels weren’t much of a threat even with Ohtani and Trout on the team.
Trout hasn’t missed a game this year and leads the majors with 10 home runs, although his stat line is still quite unusual. He’s batting just .226 and has more extra-base hits (13) than singles (11). He has five stolen bases, already the most since 2019.
His power and availability are good signs, but with Ohtani now playing for the Dodgers — and starting well with a bat — even a healthy trout might not be enough to keep the Angels relevant.
TIME FOR CURIOSITIES
Which players won American League MVP honors in the four years Trout finished second?
SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT?
Last year at this time, Oakland was the laughing stock of baseball, but while there is still a lot of turmoil surrounding the Athletics’ planned moves to Sacramento and Las Vegas, its performance on the field hasn’t been too bad.
Last week, Oakland split a four-game series in New York against the Yankees, then won two of three in Baltimore, twice overcoming deficits in the ninth inning against Craig Kimbrel. The A’s have a dominant closer in Mason Miller, who has 25 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings. He is a player to watch later this season as the trade deadline approaches.
The Chicago White Sox are at the bottom of the American League at 6-22, but they just won a three-game set against Tampa Bay. Chicago was unable to take advantage of a weak AL Central. The White Sox are 2-15 in their division, which is a big reason why everyone else is above .500.
RETURN OF THE WEEK
San Diego held a 9-4 lead over Colorado on Thursday in the bottom of the eighth inning. It’s not safe at Coors Field.
With one out, the Rockies had a 1.1% win probability, according to Baseball Savant. After a double and a walk, Hunter Goodman made it 9-7 with a three-run home run. After Brenton Doyle’s RBI single, Ezequiel Tovar scored on a walk-off walk to tie it, and with two outs, Elias Díaz delivered a go-ahead double that lifted Colorado to a 10-9 victory.
LINE OF THE WEEK
Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela went 4-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, seven RBIs and three runs to lead Boston to a 17-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
TRIVIA ANSWER
Miguel Cabrera in 2012, Cabrera again in 2013, Josh Donaldson in 2015 and Mookie Betts in 2018.
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