The Angels introduced on Tuesday that Mike Trout is present process surgical procedure to restore a meniscus tear in his left knee. He was positioned on the 10-day injured checklist. Alden González and Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Trout would bear knee surgical procedure. The membership hasn’t offered a timetable however count on Trout again this season, although González and Passan report that 4 to 6 weeks could be a best-case situation, with the caveat that medical doctors might want to get a more in-depth look.
It’s unclear when Trout suffered the damage, as he was enjoying in final evening’s sport and wasn’t eliminated at any level. González relayed a two-minute video clip on X of Trout discussing the difficulty. Trout stated he felt it a bit of bit within the third inning nevertheless it didn’t seem to be a severe problem. However it was sore after the sport and this morning, so he bought it examined.
For sure, it’s an terrible growth for the Angels and for Trout himself. The famous person was in good type to start out the 2024 marketing campaign. He has already launched ten house runs and drawn walks in 12.7% of his plate appearances. He presently has a line of .220/.325/.541 for the yr, which interprets to a wRC+ of 142, indicating he’s been 42% higher than the league common hitter. He additionally stole six bases in seven tries.
However that efficiency is now placed on pause, the newest setback for a participant who has turn into frustratingly damage susceptible lately. The final time he was capable of play 120 video games in a season was 2019 and he’s solely gone past the 82-game plateau as soon as in that span. He was wholesome in 2020 however the pandemic shortened the season to 60 video games. A proper calf pressure was the offender in 2021, adopted by again issues the yr after that and a left hamate fracture final season. Now he’s set to overlook some undetermined quantity of the 2024 season whereas recovering from this surgical procedure.
As has so usually been the case, the Angels are struggling regardless of Trout’s finest efforts. They’re presently 11-18, which places them forward of simply the Astros and White Sox within the American League standings. Now they must proceed with out their franchise participant in heart area for the foreseeable future.
How the membership will proceed with out Trout stays to be seen. They only designated Aaron Hicks for project yesterday, subtracting one outfielder from the combo. Now Trout’s inevitable placement on the injured checklist will subtract a second.
Jo Adell has loads of heart area expertise and has been hitting nicely thus far this season, presently sporting a monster batting line of .321/.373/.623. Maybe most significantly, he’s solely placing out at a 23.7% clip, in comparison with a 35.4% price in his huge league time coming into this yr. Taylor Ward is having an excellent season on the plate and will stick in left area.
Mickey Moniak might have to leap into an everyday position, although his fortunes have fully flipped since final yr. In 2023, he rode a .397 batting common on balls in play to a line of .280/.307/.495. This yr, his BABIP has cratered to .189, resulting in a line of .143/.200/.214. He was due for regression based mostly on final yr’s 35% strikeout price however he has really lowered that to 30% this yr, regardless of the far worse outcomes. Multi-positional gamers like Brandon Drury, Luis Rengifo, Cole Tucker and Ehire Adrianza have some outfield expertise. Jordyn Adams is on the 40-man however presently on non-obligatory project. The Angels additionally signed Kevin Pillar to a giant league contract shortly after saying Trout’s damage.
Trout’s contract runs by the 2030 season. Many speculated that he would possibly ask for a commerce away from the Angels now that Shohei Ohtani is gone and the staff made little effort to enhance the roster this previous winter, regardless of his private makes an attempt to foyer the membership’s determination makers to do extra. However in February, he stated that asking for a commerce could be “the simple approach out” and that he nonetheless desires to win with the Angels.
