Trout abandoning RF, wants to return to center: It's where 'I'm at my best'

One year as a corner outfielder was more than enough for Mike Trout.

The Los Angeles Angels superstar shifted to right field last season in an effort to remain healthy but now says he wants to return to his longtime position in center.

"I just feel more comfortable out there," Trout said Monday, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. "I feel like I'm at my best when I'm in center."

Trout fully embraced moving to right field - a position he hadn't played since his rookie year - last spring in hopes it would put less stress on his body following a slew of injury-plagued seasons that sapped his production. He even worked with his former teammate Torii Hunter, who made a similar late-career switch, to try to ease the transition.

However, the switch didn't work out as planned. Trout played just 22 games in right, all of them in April. He accrued minus-3 defensive runs saved before sustaining a knee injury while running the bases that sent him to the injured list. After getting healthy, he spent the rest of 2025 as a strict DH.

"Honestly, I felt like when I was in center, it was less on my body," Trout said. "To be honest, right field felt like I was running a lot. It's just a preference thing. Talking to some other outfielders, they feel the same way sometimes, that center is less on your legs. I just feel more confident in center."

The move is not set in stone just yet, as Trout left the door open to playing a corner spot "if I have to." But new manager Kurt Suzuki already agreed to give the three-time MVP a chance at his old position and will have Trout play all three outfield spots in Cactus League games.

"It's always nice to have some flexibility, but he does prefer center field and we're going to take a look," Suzuki said. "We've got spring training to see how he feels out there in center, but that's the plan right now."

Jo Adell, who played 89 games in center last year, had been projected to man the spot again in 2026. Adell can shift back to right - where he's a much better defender - if Trout ends up back in center, while offseason addition Josh Lowe can play left field every day. This alignment would also allow Jorge Soler, a notoriously poor defender, to DH full time.

Trout hit 26 homers last season and managed to play in 130 games, the first time he reached that mark since his MVP campaign of 2019. However, the 34-year-old finished 2025 with a career-worst .797 OPS across 556 plate appearances.