The Los Angeles Angels activated star center fielder Mike Trout from the injured list today. How will it affect the Angels’ playoff hopes?
he’s baaack 🐐#GoHalos | @MikeTrout https://t.co/4epM3TUyCq pic.twitter.com/IEZOEraNC9
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 22, 2023
Trout fractured his left hamate bone on July 4th after being hit by a pitch. He has hit .263 this season with 18 home runs in 81 games. He returns amid a brutal 5-13 stretch for the Angels since the trade deadline.
Angels Hope Dwindling
The Angels have been one of the most fascinating teams in 2023. Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani is an impending free agent, and it’s generally assumed that Los Angeles needs to make the playoffs to have a chance at re-signing him. Trout is signed through 2030 but has played in three career playoff games and none since 2014. The urgency is there, and the Angels decided to push all their chips in at the August 1st trade deadline. They gave up top prospects by acquiring Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López, Randal Grichuk, C.J. Cron, and Dominic Leone and solidified their intentions to contend. Since those late-July deals, the Angels have gone just 9-15 and lost six games in the Wild Card standings. Mike Trout’s injury came at one of the worst times possible, leaving the team without his services during the summer.
Will It Be Enough?
Trout is undoubtedly one of the league’s best players when healthy, and he and Ohtani form the league’s best 1-2 punch. However, with seven other spots in the lineup, they can only do some of it. The roster has been decimated by injuries all year, and many players have been ineffective when on the field. Cron, their deadline addition, hit the injured list on Friday. With catcher Logan O’Hoppe recently returning from a long-term injury, the Angels need more time to make a push. To do so, they’re leaning on a youth movement. If Trout is his usual self, then he’ll be vital to overtaking the field in the American League, but the deficit might be insurmountable.
LWOS’ Angels beat writer Brandon Hillhouse contributed to this article. Check out his other work here.
Main Photo Credits: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
