Mike Trout's position change reminiscent of similar move by baseball legend

A career center fielder to this point, Mike Trout will have a new position starting with the 2025 season. But Trout isn't moving far — he's just shifting over to right field.

And after back-to-back injury plagued seasons — he played in 82 games in 2023 and only 29 last season — Trout playing right field is the right call for the 33-year-old. 

The 11-time All-Star announced the move on Monday. He explained that he met with Angels general manager Perry Minasian and manager Ron Washington on Sunday, and they are all in agreement that the change is in the best interest of Trout and the team moving forward. 

"It went great ... just threw everything on the table, as in, what's best for me, body-wise, to keep me on the field,” Trout told reporters. "Came to conclusion that I'm gonna go to right field. I like it, I’ll try it out, see where it goes."

The decision also leads to comparisons to a fellow baseball legend. Back in 2007, Ken Griffey Jr., often regarded as one of the greatest center fielders in history, became a full-time right fielder.  

Much like with Trout, the move came due to health reasons. Griffey was coming off playing just 109 games in 2006 and 128 the year before, both actually jumps from the 70, 53 and 83 games he played in the 2002-04 seasons, respectively. 

At that time, baseball fans, in addition to the Reds, were being robbed of enjoying the Hall of Famer on a regular basis. Even though Griffey owned 10 Gold Gloves at center field, right field isn't as taxing of a position, and increasing the number of games he could play was a major goal.

It also worked. Griffey played in 144 games in 2007 — his first 30-home-run season since 2000 — and then 143 the following year, though he was eventually traded to the White Sox, who then ironically played him at center field. 

While Trout has often been compared to Griffey for his all-around ability, the parallel of a great player losing games to injury is one the Angels would like to stop. 

Trout, 33, is also doing this at a younger age, lending credence to the argument that Griffey, who was 37 when he moved to right field, should've considered the move sooner. 

Trout's 2024 season was a complete wash. He hit only .220 with 10 home runs. In 2023, he hit .263 and didn't play enough to surpass season totals of just 18 home runs and 44 RBI. Those are just not lines typical of the three-time MVP.

So far in his already legendary career, Trout has 1,648 hits, 1,123 runs scored, 378 homers, 954 RBI and a .299 average. To show his complete greatness, Trout holds an 86.2 WAR — slightly higher than Griffey's 83.8. 

Unfortunately, even if this change gets Trout on the field more, it likely won't help him put an end to another similarity he shares with Griffey — they're both all-time greats without a championship.

Trout has actually never even won a playoff game, appearing in only one postseason series his whole career — a 2014 Division Series loss to Kansas City. Few expect the Angeles to contend no matter how much they get out of Trout.