ANAHEIM — With Mike Trout’s return to the Angels lineup seemingly near, the next question will be whether he’s the right fielder or the DH.
That’s a question that Ron Washington isn’t prepared to answer yet.
“Once Mike is back, we can have that conversation right there, accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish, and move on,” the Angels manager said. “We don’t have to have pre-conversations.”
It will be an interesting decision nonetheless.
Before Trout, 33, suffered a bruised left knee on April 30, he started 22 games in right field and seven at DH. The Angels moved Trout from center to right in an effort to keep him healthy.
If the Angels want Trout to DH, their options will be to put Jorge Soler in right field or have him on the bench. Right now, the Angels are mostly using Jo Adell in right field, with Matthew Lugo and Kyren Paris in center. One of those players would likely go to open a roster spot for Trout.
Soler has started 33 games at DH and 13 in right field so far this season. While there’s not much data to evaluate Soler in the outfield, so far, he’s rated as a negative-1 in terms of Outs Above Average. That’s the same as left fielder Taylor Ward and better than Adell (-2).
Washington said the Angels won’t push their luck with Soler playing the outfield on an everyday basis.
“He’s done an outstanding job,” Washington said. “I’m more than certain he’s impressed more people than they thought. They didn’t think Soler could play in the outfield. He can play out there. Now, running him out there five, six days in a row, we’re not going to do that, but give him two days, a change from just hitting, will help him focus more. That’s what we try to do.”
As for Trout, he did sprints on the field on Saturday, marking the first time in his rehab that he’s run on back-to-back days.
He also took batting practice on the field for the second day in a row. The Angels are likely to also have him get some at-bats against an Angels minor league pitcher in the coming days.
The biggest remaining test is still running the bases, which could happen any day now.
“He certainly looked like he’s ready to go,” Washington said. “He hit. He ran with resistance, and then he ran sprints, and he walked off the field with his head high and a smile on his face. But his future is in our trainers’ (hands). When they say he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go. But he has to run the bases.”
In other years, Trout has been close to a return, only to suffer a setback that significantly extended his time on the injured list.
DANA UP
The Angels recalled top pitching prospect Caden Dana to give them coverage for the bullpen. They designated right-hander Shaun Anderson for assignment.
The Angels’ bullpen has been worked hard in recent days, and they needed a fresh arm who could pitch multiple innings.
Washington said he’s not concerned that this temporary role would interfere with Dana’s development as a starter.
“That’s not going to stagnate his development, because once we use him, if need be, we’re gonna send him back,” Washington said. “If not, we’re gonna keep him here. We’re gonna do what we have to do to help us. And right now, he’s the one guy we feel can help us.”
Dana, 21, was up for one game earlier this season, when right-hander Ryan Johnson was on the paternity list. Dana gave up two runs in three innings. Last season, Dana started three times in the majors in September, with one good outing and two bad ones.
Dana, who had a 5.21 ERA in eight Triple-A starts, said he’s made some mechanical changes since last year, and he also learned to have a different mindset.
“Throw strikes,” Dana said. “I think most of the times when I got in trouble was when I got behind in the counts and walked guys. So get ahead with your stuff. And trust it’s going to be there.”
NOTES
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who starts the series finale on Sunday, will be going for the 100th victory of his career. That’s extra significant to him because it would tie former Angels pitcher Clyde Wright, who was Hendricks’ first pitching coach when he was growing up in Orange County. …
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi said after Friday’s game that he didn’t really understand what Washington said to him during a mound visit, because his interpreter wasn’t there. “There was a lot of slang I wasn’t familiar with, so I just gave it my all,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter after the game. On Saturday, Washington said with a smile that he got his message across. “Kikuchi understands,” Washington said. “He might have told y’all he didn’t quite understand what I said, but he understood what I said.” Washington said he was simply emphasizing the importance of the situation and motivating Kikuchi to get through the inning.
UP NEXT
Marlins (RHP Edward Cabrera, 0-1, 5.50) at Angels (RHP Kyle Hendricks, 2-5, 5.32), Sunday, 1:07 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM