Trout eyes ’20-plus’ steals, has Angels’ ‘go-ahead’
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout broke into the majors as a true five-tool player who stole 49 bases during his first full season with the Los Angeles Angels in 2012.
Trout stole 24 bases as recently as 2018, but the three-time AL MVP didn’t steal that many in the next five seasons combined while age, injuries and the Angels’ overall philosophy slowed him down.
Before Trout took the field for the Angels’ home opener against Boston on Friday night, he said he’s eager to start running wild on the bases again — and manager Ron Washington is willing to see it happen.
“I think 20-plus would be cool,” Trout said when asked how many bases he would like to steal. “Thirty would be really fun.”
Trout stole only six total bases in the previous four seasons, three of which ended early because of major injuries. He’s now a muscled, 32-year-old power hitter who doesn’t rely on speed, but Trout remains confident he can reclaim the form on the basepaths that made him perhaps the most versatile offensive talent of his generation.
He realizes he might be thinking about the risk while running the bases this year. He played in only 237 games over the past three seasons, but says he can’t play worried about another injury.
“If you’re out there holding back a little, I think sometimes it puts you in a worse position,” Trout said. “I’m not saying that’s what happened [with other injuries], but I feel like if I want to steal a base, I can steal a base, and Wash gave me the go-ahead. Looking back at the managers I had before, if I [told] them I wanted to steal some bags, I would have. They wouldn’t have minded it. But it wasn’t like a game plan we had before. So the last three, four years, it hasn’t really worked. So I figured why not just go out there and whatever happens, happens.”
Washington is fully on board with Trout’s desire to play aggressively this season. The Halos’ new skipper traveled to Trout’s offseason home in New Jersey shortly after he got the Angels’ top job for a lengthy discussion about exactly what Trout wanted to get out of this season and beyond.
One of the top topics of conversation was Trout’s desire to play freely and to steal bases aggressively. Washington said he trusts Trout to do the right things.
“You get hurt when you try not to just let your natural ability play,” Washington said. “If he sees an opportunity to steal a bag when he’s on first base, second base, go for it. I don’t want Mike stealing 50 bags, because I don’t want him hitting the ground that much. But if Mike decides he wants to get 50 bags, and he can get to 50 bags, I’m not going to stop him. I’m not concerned about him maybe hurting himself or anything like that, because when you think like that, that’s what happens. He’s thinking the other way. He’s thinking positive.”
Trout also expressed his usual indefatigable optimism about his long-struggling team, which has major-league-worst streaks of eight consecutive losing seasons and nine straight non-playoff seasons.
Although the Angels lost reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani in free agency and entered the new season with low external expectations, they’re off to a 4-2 start with more contributions from young talent than they’ve had in years. Trout is already impressed by Washington’s leadership and teaching ability.
“It feels like a different vibe this year,” Trout said. “Hopefully it rubs off on the fans, and the fans come to see us play. … I think going through spring and then the first road trip, the vibe is different. With everybody buying in, it’s been fun.”
The Carolina Hurricanes have reached a three-year, $9.5 million extension with forward Taylor Hall through the 2027-28 season.
The team announced the signing Wednesday, a day after the Hurricanes closed out the New Jersey Devils in their first-round playoff series. It marked the seventh straight year that Carolina has won at least one postseason series.
Hall, 33, acquired in a blockbuster January deal that included Mikko Rantanen‘s arrival, scored the first of Carolina’s four second-period goals that helped it erase a 3-0 deficit before winning in double overtime. He’s a 15-year veteran who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in the 2017-18 season.
“Taylor has proven to be an outstanding fit for our team, and we are thrilled that he is excited to make Raleigh his home for another three seasons,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He’s been a solid veteran presence in the locker room and a difference maker on the ice.”
Hall had 18 goals and 24 assists in 77 regular-season games between Chicago and Carolina, and also had two assists in the five-game series win against New Jersey. He had missed most of the previous season due to knee surgery and was making $6 million this year with free agency looming, then led Carolina skaters with four power-play goals in the regular season after his arrival.
The Hurricanes acquired the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick on Jan. 24 in the three-team deal that snagged Rantanen from Colorado, though they later sent Rantanen to Dallas with forward Logan Stankoven as the primary trade-deadline return when it became clear Rantanen was unlikely to sign long-term to stay with Carolina.
Hall and Tulsky are scheduled to address reporters by Zoom later Wednesday.
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Greg Wyshynski
Utah Hockey Club officials wouldn’t confirm whether “Mammoth” was their new name after it allegedly leaked on the team’s official YouTube channel Tuesday night.
Fans and media noticed that the channel’s handle was changed from “@UtahHockeyClub” to “@UtahMammoth,” on both its landing page and URL. The channel was soon deactivated and remained so on Wednesday morning, but not before screenshots of the name change went viral.
Utah Mammoth was one of three finalists featured in a fan vote at Delta Center to help determine the permanent name of the team, which played its inaugural season in 2024-25 after SEG purchased and relocated the former Arizona Coyotes franchise. Fans voted with iPads located at stations around the arena that featured the names, logos and potential branding for each option.
Originally, the three names voted on were Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Wasatch, which was quickly swapped out for Utah Outlaws after the team saw early vote returns.
Mammoth made the final four in the initial fan vote last year.
Utah HC executives wouldn’t confirm or deny that Mammoth will be the team’s new nickname.
Mike Maughan, an executive with Utah HC owner Smith Entertainment Group, said on Wednesday that “progress continues on exploring all three of the name options that were chosen as finalists by our fans. We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season and look forward to sharing that with our fans when we do.”
When pressed for an explanation on the alleged YouTube leak, Maughan would only say, “We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season.”
One NHL source told ESPN that the revelation for the team’s new name and logo could come before the NHL draft in late June. This year’s draft is a “decentralized” event, meaning that teams will be making selections from their own sites rather than in one central location. That opens the door for Utah to have an event in Salt Lake City with team officials around the draft.
In other Utah HC news, the team announced Wednesday that Delta Center, home to Utah HC and the Utah Jazz, will be undergoing a renovation to optimize hockey sightlines while maintaining the proximity of basketball fans to the court using a state-of-the-art retractable seating system. It’s a multiyear project that will also create a new main entrance and outdoor plaza.
The first-of-its-kind seating system accommodates a nearly 12-foot variance in elevation between rink and court endlines to offer optimal sightlines for both the NBA and NHL. Every seat in the lower bowl will have a complete view of the ice at the start of next season — the team estimates that 400 seats currently can only see one goal net during games.
The new hockey configuration adds capacity behind the goals and above and around the event tunnels on the north and south side of the lower bowl and improves access to seating behind the boards.
When all renovations are complete, seating capacity for hockey will increase from 11,131 to approximately 17,000 — with every seat in the upper and lower bowls having full views of both goals — and capacity for basketball will increase from 18,206 to nearly 19,000 seats.
“Delta Center was built for basketball. When you come and put the size of an ice sheet in that venue with those sight lines, the geometry just doesn’t work. So that’s where you come up with the riser system configuration. You come up with raising the floor 2 feet,” said Jim Olson, president of the Jazz and executive representing SEG on all facilities projects.
“We are absolutely protecting the basketball experience, but then also creating a great hockey experience where all the seats can see all the ice,” he said.
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