Mike Trout is one of, if not the best, player of the modern era of baseball. This is not just a cardinal rule, but a law of the current-day MLB. Even in the seasons where he wasn’t spectacular or didn’t lead any offensive categories, he was still really good.
His career accolades prove it, including being a three-time MVP, the 2012 Rookie of the Year, a two-time All-Star MVP, and having been selected to 11 mid-summer classics. To top it all off, the 33-year-old has nine Silver Sluggers to his name. He’s bound for Cooperstown in a few years’ time, the plaque is just waiting for his name to be engraved with his name and face.
Before that happens, however, there needs to be a conversation about how he’s playing right now. 2025 is shaping up to be another lost season and, perhaps, his worst in his career. There’s no question his star is fading and his body is cracking, but it might be time to state the long-dreaded phrase: It’s time for Mike Trout to retire.
The most obvious factor in a decision to retire is how a player’s body feels at the end of each season. For Mike Trout, his injury history is piling up fast. On top of that, the degree of severity for each injury seems to only be getting worse with each unfortunate twist.
Starting with a summary published in 2021, the Los Angeles Angels were already having a concerning track record of mounting physical health problems.
His first true trip to the injured list occurred in 2017, when he suffered a torn thumb ligament and lost 39 games. The next year, the superstar lost 19 games after jamming his wrist on a slide to third base. In 2019, he suffered a groin sprain early in the season, then lost the last half of September due to foot surgery.
It only got worse in 2021, suffering a right calf strain that wiped out most of his season. Since playing over 110 games in 2022, his body has crumbled with a fractured hamate bone in 2023 and torn his left meniscus in 2024. Now, he finds himself rehabbing from a bone bruise in that same knee this year.
Since 2019, including significant injuries, Trout has reportedly been injured a whopping 13 times, according to Fox Sports, not counting duplicates. In the last three seasons, he has only played 164 games, which is just over a season’s worth of games. Given he’s about to turn 34, age is known not to be kind at all.
Don’t let the injuries turn anything away from the obvious, being that Trout has a really good hitting profile. When he wasn’t playing well, he was still really good. But when the outfielder was at his best, he was a juggernaut.
Between 2015 and 2019, Trout slugged a .305/.435/1.041 slash line with 187 home runs and 140 doubles. In addition, he stole 98 bases and drive in 445 runs, good for a 182 OPS+. His walk-to-strikeout ratio was nearly equal, but he had more hits than strikeouts during that entire time.
In those five seasons, Trout led either the American League or the entire league in OPS+ all five seasons. He led four out of five seasons in OBP and OPS, while leading three times in slugging and twice in walks. Even before then, he had an MVP from his 2014 season and the Rookie of the Year award. This period netted him two additional MVPs.
For a player who has never his below a .990 OPS since his debut in 2011, he’s failed to break .900 in the last three years. His power appears to finally be withering away, only hitting 17 doubles and 40 home runs in the last three years. His eye is no longer as sharp as it was during that five-year stretch, either.
When you look at the decline in percentages, the fall-off is more pronounced than you think. In 2025, he’s on his way to having his worst strikeout percentage since 2023, his lowest home-run rate, and lowest ISO in his career. Most of his hitting profile has remained unchanged, however.
This is where the decision to retire gets very convoluted. While the metrics say he’s slipping in key areas, he can still hit very well. Per Baseball Savant, he ranks at the 90th percentile or above in sweet-spot contact, barrels, and walks. In fact, he still holds an exit velocity well over 115 miles per hour.
The problem lies with a very high whiff and strikeout rate. There has been a significant jump across the three major pitches in whiff rate, with breaking balls jumping from 19 percent in 2024 to 42 percent in 2025. Given that his stats are beginning to suffer due to injuries, and his body will soon feel the effects, these numbers could dip even further.
Probably one of the more overlooked aspects of Mike Trout’s game is his fielding abilities. He’s never won a Gold Glove, but he’s only made 21 errors in fifteen years of playing the outfield. He has 46 outfield assists and 12 double plays during his career, making him one of the most effective center fielders in the game.
With his age, however, that faction of his play is beginning to diminish significantly. Overall, his run value this year is -2 per Baseball Savant, with his range going negative for the first time since 2019. His arm strength, another key metric, registered at its lowest since 2020.
With his aging body and diminishing speed, along with numerous leg injuries, he will likely have to transition to hitting full-time. Yes, he could extend his career in the permanent hitting spot, but is Mike Trout’s mind ready to take on the shift? Plus, when you have Marcell Ozuna, Paul Goldschmidt, and potentially Joc Pederson as potential free agents, there are more lucrative options if Trout’s play continues to falter.
Let’s repeat the fact that Trout is still an amazing ballplayer. There are aspects of his game that are still better than even most of the younger players in the sport. However, with his injury history accumulating and his stats beginning to take a significant hit, his days might be numbered.
The decision to retire might be more about preserving his legacy in the game, in addition to injuries and declining play. It ultimately comes down to whether he wants to go full-time and whether his body can handle it. If he’s willing to make the shift and his body complements less strenuous activity, that’s fantastic. If not, it’s time for him to hang his cleats up.
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