The Angels are again preparing to pack their bags before an October of watching other teams in the postseason, followed by a winter of trying to do what it takes to join them.
For Mike Trout, who has continued to build a Hall of Fame career while being notably absent from the playoffs, it is beyond frustrating.
“The biggest thing is getting to the playoffs,” Trout said Saturday. “You guys see it. I see it. It sucks, being out of it. It’s time. We got to get to the playoffs.”
The Angels came up painfully short in this coronavirus-shortened season, digging themselves too deep a hole over the first month to escape with a strong second month. They were eliminated with a loss to the Dodgers on Friday in the 58th game of 60.
“You look at this team we have right now, it could have been a different story if we played a full season,” Trout said. “We just got hot a little late, and we fell short.”
Another season short of the playoffs is certainly not what Trout expected 18 months ago, when he committed for 10 years beyond the two he had left on his contract.
Trout said at the time that he believed in the Angels, and specifically in general manager Billy Eppler, whose future is in limbo with a contract expiring at the end of this season.
“Obviously, Billy was a big reason I signed back here,” Trout said. “Billy and I have built a friendship over the years. You know he’s put a lot of great teams together and obviously it just didn’t work out these last few years, but the relationship and the friendship I’ve built with Billy, obviously goes beyond baseball now … I don’t know what direction they’re going to go or what’s going to happen. I guess we’ll see here in a couple of days.”
Whoever is working on the Angels’ roster over the winter, Eppler or his successor, Trout said he would continue to provide whatever feedback or support is requested.
“Whatever they need, I’m definitely here to give whatever I think, and obviously they listen,” Trout said. “Hopefully we make some moves this offseason to get over the top … I couldn’t even tell you who the top free agents are. If there’s a guy that could help this team, I’m 100 percent trying to recruit him.”
As for his own performance, Trout will head into the final day of the season with a .281 average, 17 homers and a .993 OPS. His OPS has been over 1.000 each of the past three seasons.
While the numbers would be outstanding by the standards of anyone in the majors, Trout was disappointed with his season.
“I just didn’t have the consistency at the plate,” he said. “I’d go through a good stretch and then I’d lose it for a little bit. When you have a full season, you minimize that little skid or slump. In a 60-game season, it’s obviously more important.”
Trout’s slight dip could result in his first time ever being out of the top four in the MVP race. Jose Ramirez, Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, DJ LeMahieu and Nelson Cruz all have also had MVP-caliber seasons.
All of those players are on teams headed to the playoffs. The Angels have been there only once with Trout, in 2014.
“I don’t like losing,” he said. “I want to get to the playoffs. I think that every time we come into spring training our main goal is to get to the playoffs and bring a championship to Anaheim. That’s just the mindset. You come up short and you’re that close, it sucks.”
LINEUP SHUFFLE
Trout, Anthony Rendon and Justin Upton were among the regulars to get the night off Saturday, with the game rendered meaningless by the Angels’ loss Friday.
Manager Joe Maddon instead used the kind of lineup you’d see in spring training, with young players throughout. He put Jo Adell in center field and gave Jared Walsh a shot in right field.
Maddon also was able to pencil Elliot Soto in at shortstop for his first major-league start. Jahmai Jones was promoted to make his first major-league start at second base.
The middle infield spots were open because Rendon got the night off – moving David Fletcher to third – and because Andrelton Simmons opted out and Luis Rengifo went on the injured list with a strained hamstring.
The Angels also scratched their scheduled starters for the final two games. Dylan Bundy had been scheduled to pitch Saturday, but he had a cut on his finger, Maddon said, so Julio Teheran started. Maddon said Bundy could have pitched if the game mattered.
Griffin Canning, who was scheduled for Sunday, will not pitch either. Maddon said there’s nothing wrong with Canning, but there’s no reason to risk injury with him in a meaningless game. They are likely to have a bullpen game instead.
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