Given how much of a struggle it has been for Mike Trout to stay healthy, it's time for Ron Washington to make a change involving the former MVPs playing time.
Trout's recent injury made an already frustrating season for Los Angeles Angels fans reach a new low. It has been years since Trout has gotten through a full 162-game season fully healthy, and he is set to make another trip to the Injured List. While it's hard to blame anyone for an injury, it feels as if the manager can do a better job keeping Trout on the field.
As mentioned above, injuries have been a major issue for Trout. After a mostly durable first nine full seasons of his career, Trout has played in just 295 of a possible 678 games since the start of the 2021 campaign. That is a problem. There are plenty of reasons why the Angels have struggled, but Trout's injury woes make winning virtually impossible.
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Mike Trout cannot play every game, no matter how badly Ron Washington wants him to
Prior to his injury, Trout had not only appeared, but had started all 29 games the Angels had played. To make matters worse, Trout had played in every inning of every game prior to his injury. Yes, even in games that the Angels won or lost handily, Trout played in every single inning.
If Trout were a 23-year-old who had no injury concerns, this approach would be fine. Instead, Trout is a 33-year-old who, again, has missed an absurd amount of time in recent years due to injury. What justification does Washington have for playing him every inning of every game?
Look, I get it. When healthy, Mike Trout is still one of the game's best players, even with his slow-ish start to the 2025 campaign. The urge to play him on a team that lacks much talent is probably irresistible. However, Washington must take the long-term view with Trout, a player the Angels have locked in on massive money through the 2030 campaign.
Washington has done this to an extent by using Trout as a DH in seven of his 29 appearances. While that gets Trout off his feet to an extent, it isn't good enough for a player who has had as much trouble as he has staying on the field. Washington even had Trout play the field in a day game after a night game leading up to his injury.
While giving Trout days off once in a while might result in the Angels losing the games he doesn't play, isn't losing him for one game better here and there than losing him for 10 or more days due to injury?
Resting him doesn't guarantee anything, but it also can't hurt him. With the Angels needing Trout to stay healthy, giving him time off is an adjustment Washington must learn to make before he suffers a more serious injury that might keep him out even longer than this one will.