Angels’ Mike Trout scratched from lineup before Royals game

Heading into Tuesday’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels were looking to get back on the winning path. After splitting a four-game set with the division leading Houston Astros, a series win against the Royals would go a long way. Unfortunately for the Angels, outfielder Mike Trout was a late scratch from Tuesday’s lineup. According to the Halos’ official PR account on X (formerly Twitter), Trout will miss Tuesday’s tilt due to a skin infection.

“Mike Trout was scratched from today’s lineup with a skin infection,” posted the PR page Tuesday evening.

It’s another tough blow for Trout and the Angels. After a historic start to his career, injuries and ailments have continuously plagued the former MVP. The 34-year-old has not only moved to right field, but he’s also played exclusively at designated hitter over the last few games as well. So far in 2025, Trout has played in the second-highest number of games (108) since his injury issues started in 2021. It’s been a mostly healthy season for Trout, even though it’s clear he’s in decline. Can the Angels surround him with enough talent to make a playoff run in the future?

Angels need to surround Mike Trout with more talent

Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Once again, Angels GM Perry Minasian’s failure to add top-tier talent this past offseason has snakebitten his roster. Of course, that has felt like the story every offseason since the big ticket signing of third baseman Anthony Rendon a few years ago. Now, the focus has been on drafting talented, experienced players out of college baseball and getting them to the majors as quickly as possible. Examples of this include first baseman Nolan Schanuel, shortstop Zach Neto and last year’s first round pick, second baseman Christian Moore.

While this is a different tactic, the need for more talent via trades and free agency is clear. This roster is not built to contend for a World Series title in its current state. Frankly, that is something that Trout more than deserves, considering his loyalty and service to the Angels. If Minasian won’t do that once again this winter, would it be time for both parties to part ways? If not, Trout’s career will always have a “What If” attached to it.

‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’

‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’