[uvaspina]

I read an article thatMLB actually changed the rookie qualifications over the off-season, in part, to accommodate trout. While it's true that he fell just short of the AB threshold to remain a rookie, there is another qualification pertaining to days spent on a MLB roster. The way the old rule worked is that if a guy was sent down and called back up within X days, the intervening time spent in the minors would count toward MLB service. Under the old rules, Trout's one and only rookie season would have been last year. Like I said though, MLB tweaked the rule so that the intervening time wouldn't count.

EDIT: Here's a link to a November 2011 article discussing why Trout wouldn't be eligible to retain RC status in 2012. -Shortly afterward the rule was changed. http://angels.ocregister.com/2011/11/15/...rd/110903/

So, to answer the OP's question, the Angels did not manipulate the system to retain Trout's RC status. If anything, they blew it. MLB sensed the marketing opportunity and tweaked the rule.