Angels' Mark Trumbo to play outfield in winter league
With Kendry Morales entrenched at first base heading into next season, Angels first base prospect Mark Trumbo said Tuesday he anticipated playing the outfield in a Venezuelan winter league to enhance his versatility at the major league level.
"The whole off-season, I'm going to be working as hard as I can to grasp everything, the nuances of playing out there," he said, "and the month I'm here [with the Angels] I'll learn quite a bit from these guys."
Trumbo, 24, said he played about 20 games in the outfield this season at triple-A Salt Lake, where he hit .301 and led the Pacific Coast League in home runs (36), runs batted in (122) and runs scored (103).
"I'm still trying to find a position," he said, "but my main strength is my bat and I'm just going to try to do the best I can and wait and see" what happens.
Although success in the notoriously hitter-friendly PCL doesn't always translate to the major league level, Trumbo said he was confident he could be productive on baseball's biggest stage.
"I'm going to take the same approach I had there until I'm forced to change it," he said.
--Ben Bolch
