Baseball is much better when Mike Trout is healthy and playing baseball. Over the last few years, the baseball community has not been able to see one of the best players of all time roam the outfield and smash extra-base hits. In fact, Trout has not played 120 games in a season since 2019. His run from 2012-19 is iconic, but his days in centerfield are over. Now, Trout is playing right field while Jo Adell mans center.

The Los Angeles Angels are 38-40 and are 3rd in the AL West Division. With a healthy Trout, this team could sneak into the playoffs. They need a strong second half, and Trout is aware of it. He is taking his progression slowly and is comfortable contributing at DH until he is ready to play right field.

“It’s still a little achy,” Trout said to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. “If I get a couple days where it feels good, I’ll get back out there just to move around a little bit. It's been better the last week or so.”

Trout is a baseball guy. Not being a part of the action is not in his blood.

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“I like being engaged,” Trout said. “It’s a little different not having defense on your mind. But I’ve just been trying to stay loose and hit in the cage.”

Trout can certainly still swing it. On the season, his batting average is very low at just .225. It will increase. He has 12 homers on the season with 28 RBIs and a .769 OPS. He is on pace for the most walks since 2019, but his strikeout numbers are too high with 62 on the season. The right-hander has a few more weeks of just hitting as the DH, and this is the time for him to really get it going offensively.

The Angels are coming off a win against the Boston Red Sox. They play Game 2 at 6:38 PT in Southern California on Tuesday.