It’s another season, and one thing you can bet on is the Los Angeles Angels having difficulty keeping their star players healthy. First, Anthony Rendon went down with a hamstring injury and is out indefinitely. It’s reported by Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan of ESPN that star centerfielder Mike Trout will be headed to the injured list. Trout will again lose 4-6 weeks of the season to injury with surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
NEWS: Mike Trout needs surgery on his knee, sources tell me and @JeffPassan. The extent is not known, but a source said it is not expected to be season-ending.
Story shortly on ESPN.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) April 30, 2024
Mike Trout Injury Derailing an All-Time Great
No matter how you look at Mike Trout’s career, he’s been one of the best players of all time. Unfortunately for Trout and baseball fans, he hasn’t played a full season since 2019 outside of the shortened 2020 season. The most games he’s played in since 2019 is in when he played in 119 games.
Along the way, Trout was told that he would have to contend with a rare back condition for the remainder of his career. The injury issues continue to pile on for Trout, depriving him of most of what should be the prime of his career.
Since 2019, Trout has had a handful of different injuries. His 2021 season was shortened to just 36 games with a strained calf. The aforementioned 2022 season saw him miss a few weeks with a back issue. The most recent injury for Mike Trout was breaking a bone in his hand. He’d play 82 games in 2023 and only one game after July 3rd.
The Angels Without Their Franchise Player
It’s unclear when Mike Trout sustained the torn meniscus. He played right through Monday’s slate of games, not showing many signs of an injury except a downturn in performance. All told, Trout has played in 29 games this season. He’s been productive, and in the early going, it was thought we would get a vintage Trout season. He hit 10 homers, two triples, and has stolen six bags. His slash line was down to .220/.325/.541, largely due to some struggles at the plate that may point to roughly when the injury started to bother him.
Despite the performance of the franchise player, the Angels are just 11-18 on the season. It’s the same story for the Angels from when Shohei Ohtani was on the roster. The team has had trouble putting a competitive product on the field since Mike Trout’s career started.
The Angels will have to get along without their star centerfielder. While they designated one player for assignment on Monday, they do have some options. The easiest solution would be to slide Jo Adell back to centerfield, where he has experience. From there, we may see more of Mickey Moniak, with a few others like Brandon Drury and Cole Tucker having some level of outfield experience.
Mike Trout has a timetable of 4-6 weeks, but the Angels and baseball fans everywhere hope it will be sooner rather than later.
