Can Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani become MLB’s best duo ever?

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. — Longtime Angels staffers readily recall how many of Mike Trout’s significant improvements occurred, often over offseasons, once he became aware of deficiencies in his game.

After pundits critiqued his arm during the 2013 season, Trout asked the Angels to design a weight program, shoulder exercises and specific drills to strengthen his throwing. By April 2014, Angels outfield coach Dino Ebel happily reported Trout’s arm had advanced from the fringes of average to above-average.

After pitchers ambushed him with high fastballs later in the 2014 season, Trout prepared to attack the pitch the following year. By May 2015, he had fixed that, so much so that FanGraphs published an article headlined, "Mike Trout Fixed His Only Problem."

Now, after the first injury-wrecked season of his career due to a right calf strain, Trout is out to prove he is healthy and ready to handle a full season. After what he described as one of the worst years of his career, he had plenty of time during the lockout-extended winter to maneuver his body into his desired condition.

"When you know the feeling of coming to the clubhouse every day and not being able to be in the lineup and perform," Trout told FOX Sports, "if that doesn’t motivate you, I don’t know what will."

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Speaking Wednesday at Angels camp, Trout steered the conversation away from reliving last year and toward the positives he gleaned from the lost year: namely, a new perspective on Shohei Ohtani’s superlative success.

"When you’re playing, you obviously see it," he said. "But when you’re not playing, you’re focusing on it more."

Trout's absence enabled the baseball industry to fixate on Ohtani’s unprecedented, 46-homer, 3.18-ERA, MVP campaign.

Trout and Ohtani have been teammates for four years now, but they have not yet been at their best at once. With only two more years of their tandem guaranteed, the prospect tantalizes.

"I think everybody’s trying to get that duo together," Trout said. "I’m just looking forward to a lot of great things ahead."

While he looked ahead, Trout noted one other 2021 takeaway: He has a new appreciation for the value of carefully disregarding his instincts. Soon after turning 30 in August, he tried to return from his calf strain and aggravated the injury in workouts.

"My mind was telling me to go out there and play, and my body was telling me something else," Trout said. "Balancing that and listening to my body, I think, is gonna help me in the future."

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Intentionally or not, it seems Angels manager Joe Maddon might have supplied Trout some additional motivation when he expressed an interest in moving him from his preferred center field to a less demanding corner spot.

"To play center field every day in the big leagues coming off a severe injury," Maddon told reporters earlier this week, "that’s not gonna be easy."

Maddon quickly retracted his statement after speaking to Trout, who will continue in center for now.

"He’s put in all the work," 2021 All-Star first baseman Jared Walsh said of Trout. "I know he’s really prepared right now. I think he’s ready to show everybody the injury’s behind him and why we all think of him as the best player in the game."

After Ohtani usurped that title for one wild season, most every question about the Angels right now conforms to one of two categories: Will Trout and Ohtani both stay healthy and compete for the title of the game’s best player? If they do, with a roster that obviously lacks in other departments, will it be enough to qualify for the postseason?

In other words: Could Trout and Ohtani be the best baseball duo ever this season and still miss the playoffs?

Yes, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig occasionally missed the postseason. But that was with a far smaller field.

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The Angels look to be on the fringes of the 12-team playoff field right now, and they are mostly staying put while their rivals add. On Wednesday, Angels GM Perry Minasian likened the frenzy since the lockout ended to the week before the annual trade deadline. He did not exactly sound like an executive about to begin a furious spending spree.

"We feel good about what we did before the lockout," he said. "We were really aggressive, probably one of the most aggressive teams out there. With that being said, we’re looking for the right fits, the right opportunities."

That pre-lockout aggression netted closer Raisel Iglesias and right-handers Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen. This week, the Angels brought back backup catcher Kurt Suzuki and acquired backup infielder Matt Duffy. They’re also counting on a newly healthy Anthony Rendon.

But their AL West peers are either tearing down or furiously adding. The Angels are still operating in the middle, despite their extreme talents.

Maybe it doesn’t matter what the Angels do, so long as their potentially historic duo excels. Peak seasons from Trout and Ohtani would have the baseball world talking no matter what the rest of the roster manages.

"I think once my career’s over, I’m gonna be like, ‘Holy s---! I played with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani?’" Walsh said. "But more so than me, for baseball fans, could you imagine getting 162 from Trout and Ohtani? We’re always looking for more fans, so this is a huge point in baseball.

"If those two can stay healthy and put up some video-game numbers, I think it’s gonna bring a lot of fans to the game as well."

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He most recently covered the Dodgers for three seasons for The Athletic. Previously, he spent five years covering the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and L.A. Times. More previously, he covered his alma mater, USC, for ESPNLosAngeles.com. The son of Brazilian immigrants, he grew up in the Southern California suburbs. Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.