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 record. Alden González and Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported that Trout would endure knee surgical procedure. The membership hasn’t supplied a timetable however anticipate Trout again this season, although González and Passan report that 4 to 6 weeks could be a best-case state of affairs, with the caveat that medical doctors might want to get a better look.
It’s unclear when Trout suffered the harm, as he was taking part in in final night time’s recreation 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 however it didn’t appear to be a severe situation. However it was sore after the sport and this morning, so he obtained it examined.
Evidently, it’s an terrible growth for the Angels and for Trout himself. The celebrity was in good kind 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 at the moment has a line of .220/.325/.541 for the 12 months, 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 develop into frustratingly harm susceptible lately. The final time he was in a position to 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 perpetrator in 2021, adopted by again issues the 12 months 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 at the moment 11-18, which places them forward of simply the Astros and White Sox within the American League standings. Now they should proceed with out their franchise participant in heart subject 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 record will subtract a second.
Jo Adell has loads of heart subject expertise and has been hitting nicely to date this season, at the moment sporting a monster batting line of .321/.373/.623. Maybe most significantly, he’s solely hanging out at a 23.7% clip, in comparison with a 35.4% price in his massive league time coming into this 12 months. Taylor Ward is having season on the plate and will stick in left subject.
Mickey Moniak might have to leap into an everyday position, although his fortunes have fully flipped since final 12 months. In 2023, he rode a .397 batting common on balls in play to a line of .280/.307/.495. This 12 months, his BABIP has cratered to .189, resulting in a line of .143/.200/.214. He was due for regression primarily based on final 12 months’s 35% strikeout price however he has truly lowered that to 30% this 12 months, 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 at the moment on optionally available project. The Angels additionally signed Kevin Pillar to a massive league contract shortly after saying Trout’s harm.
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 crew 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 straightforward approach out” and that he nonetheless needs to win with the Angels.