Wade

Meckler

Trout started each of the first two games since returning from the injured list on Wednesday, so the Angels will give him a breather on Friday night as they ease him back into a full-time workload. Expect him to start the remaining two games over the weekend. Josh Lowe will slide over and cover center field on Friday night while Wade Meckler starts in left field and will bat eighth against Twins’ right-hander Zebby Matthews.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 27-year-old slugger. Josh Lowe will slide over to cover right field while Wade Meckler starts in left and will bat seventh against Rangers’ veteran right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.

Mecker made a precautionary exit from Sunday’s game against the Rays following an awkward collision with the left-field wall. The 26-year-old appears to have avoided serious injury and is back in there without missing any time.

Meckler’s exit was deemed “precautionary” after he hit his head while trying to track down a Ben Williamson homer. The 26-year-old should be considered day-to-day with a decent chance to return early in the week for Los Angeles.

Meckler reached on an error in the first inning and scored on a groundout. He then drove in two runs on a double in the second before scoring again. After drawing a walk in the fourth, he reached for a fourth time on his third walk in the eighth and scored a third run. The 26-year-old outfielder has been outstanding as the strong side of a platoon in left field, hitting .340/.417/.547 with two homers, 10 runs scored, and 12 RBI across 60 plate appearances.

Meckler doubled in the first inning, drew a walk in the third, then drove in the team’s only two runs with a double in the fifth. The 26-year-old outfielder has been outstanding in his short time with the Angels, hitting .323/.364/.581 with two homers and 10 RBI across 33 plate appearances.

Meckler put the Angels on top early, taking Drew Rasmussen deep with the bases loaded in the first inning for a grand slam. He later led off the fourth with a base hit and stole second before scoring on a double. The 26-year-old outfielder has been productive in his short stint with the Angels so far, hitting .308/.333/.538 with two homers, eight RBI, and two steals across 27 plate appearances. While he does have excellent contact skills, there’s not much in the batted ball data that points to any sustainable power potential.

Meckler took Jacob deGrom deep in his first at-bat of 2026. It was his first major league homer, as he went without one in his only previous major league action in 64 plate appearances with the Giants in 2023. Meckler’s EV numbers just don’t bode well for him hitting for much power in the majors, but he has an excellent approach and some sneaky stolen base ability. It probably won’t make him a mixed-league option, but he might be of some use to the Angels in left field.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 26-year-old outfielder since appearing in a handful of games for the Giants in 2023. He has excelled at the minor league level this season, slashing a robust .312/.444/.477 with four homers, 14 RBI and six stolen bases in 136 plate appearances. He’ll start in left field and bat sixth for the Halos on Friday evening against Jacob deGrom and the Rangers.

The Angels thinned out their battle at second base on Saturday morning when they optioned Christian Moore and Kyren Paris to Triple-A Salt Lake and in the evening Nick Madrigal joined them. That leaves just Adam Frazier, Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom remaining to fight it out. Madrigal performed well during the spring, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with three RBI.