Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout has dealt with injury concerns in recent years. There was a time when Trout was considered to be the best player in all of baseball — and the competition wasn't realistically all that close. While those days are behind him, the Angels still believe in Trout. He remains confident as well, as Trout is looking to return to center field in 2026. Nevertheless, injury adversity is something that should not be ignored.
For those of us who don't play in MLB, we simply receive the injury updates. For the actual players going through the injuries, though, they have to deal with the pain, the recovery, and the pressure of missing time.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian revealed how Trout has dealt with the injury adversity during a recent exclusive interview with ClutchPoints.
“One thing about Mike, he's got a great support group around him,” Minasian told ClutchPoints. “His wife is awesome, met his parents, met his brother, they're great. Obviously he's got kids now… One of the things that can change a player is the support system around him, right? I believe he's a player that's really benefitted from having those types of people around him. So, when he does have certain things and he is frustrated, not only can he talk to the team, but he's got his family to talk to, or friends, or support group to talk to… He's somebody who's always got a positive outlook.
“He's great to see, when you see him, you smile. He's one of those guys who just does that. He puts in the work. I know he's had some injury things in the past, but it's not lack of effort. Things happen, and he knows that. He's been able to deal with that as well as anybody I've ever seen.”
How Mike Trout's injuries have impacted Angels' roster building plans
Trout, a three-time MVP, appeared in 130 games a season ago. He had not played in more than 100 games since 2022. He hasn't played in 140 contests since the 2018 campaign.
The Angels understand that Trout is doing everything he can to stay on the field. Still, the underlying truth is that building a roster around a player with injury concerns can be a challenge.
Of course, the Halos have only reached the postseason once during Trout's tenure in Anaheim, and that came back in 2014. So, the Angels struggled to build a contending roster around Trout even when he was consistently playing between 150-160 games.
Nevertheless, the challenges of building around him in previous years have been different.
“All 30 teams are in the same situation… It's not about one player, right? There's no team that is about one player, especially in the game of baseball,” Minasian said. “It's a long season. You don't know what can happen, so try and build contingency plans… At the end of the day, there's certain players you just can't replace, right? Mike is one of those guys. Try to do the best you can.”
At 34 years old, Trout may not be the same player he once was. With that being said, this is Mike Trout we are talking about. No one would be surprised if he bounced back after slashing .232/.359/.439 in 2025. The slugger still managed to record 26 home runs, but his batting average was well below his career .294 mark.
Health is the biggest question. So, how is Trout doing heading into spring training?
Kurt Suzuki provides Trout update
New Angels manager Kurt Suzuki provided an update on Trout while speaking to ClutchPoints.
“Mike's great… Hearing in his voice the excitement that he has, obviously, as you guys all know, he wants to play the field, which I think any player wants to be on the field, especially Mike,” Suzuki told ClutchPoints. “So, I think having him have that excitement of getting back on the field and getting the opportunity to be Mike Trout again is definitely a good thing for a manager to hear.”
Trout wants to win in Anaheim. He's been one of the most loyal superstars in all of sports. The Angels will look to upset expectations in 2026 with Mike Trout leading the way.
