Another year, another disappointing injury for superstar outfielder Mike Trout.
The three-time American League MVP of the Los Angeles Angels went on the injured list again Friday due to a bone bruise in his left knee, sustained earlier this week.
Trout was injured and left Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Seattle Mariners after aggravating his knee while trying to beat out an infield hit. He stayed in the game to play center field but was pinch hit for by Jo Adell.
“When it happened, I knew it was like just a weird one,” Trout told reporters after the game. “But now, after getting treatment and stuff, I should be a little better soon.”
He sat out Thursday’s 10-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, after which Angels manager Ron Washington told reporters that Trout would go on the IL.
Not Again
Despite slashing an un-Trout-like .179/.264/.462, he had not yet missed a game this season and was sitting among the American League leaders in home runs (9) when he left the game Wednesday.
But unfortunately, Trout’s balky left knee is once again a problem.
Trout missed all but 29 games last season due to a meniscus tear in his left knee, and Washington told reporters that when he removed Trout from Wednesday’s game they had hoped initially that his pain was due to scar tissue buildup.
But Trout has had more injury woes than just with his left knee. The nine-time Silver Slugger has not played more than 120 games since his most recent MVP season, 2019, with injuries to his right calf, back and hand have cost him all but 295 games over the past five seasons.
Coincidentally, Trout has played in the same number of games (29) as he did before the knee injury wiped out his 2024. The Angels reportedly are hopeful that the IL trip is just for rest and that his injury is not serious, but it’s still alarming for both Trout and Angels fans.
Another Cruel Summer
Due to his recent injuries, and the Angels’ slip into irrelevance, it’s easy to forget that Trout was on a trajectory to becoming one of baseball’s greatest players early in his career.
He has not yet even reached his mid-30s — Trout will turn 34 on Aug. 7 — but Trout’s accomplishments are almost too numerous to name. Perhaps the most unfortunate stat is Trout has as many MVP awards as playoff games played (3) and has more All-Star MVP wins (2) than postseason hits and wins combined (1).
The Angels are as far from the playoffs as ever, since they are again languishing in last place in the American League West at 12-18. They have finished either fourth or fifth in their division in seven of the past eight seasons, have not had a winning record since 2015 and haven’t won a playoff series since 2009.
Somehow, Trout still has five more years after 2025 on his 12-year, $426.5 million contract — which was the richest deal in MLB history at the time.
That Trout is beginning to break down is unsurprising, since 30-plus contracts rarely age well. But the fact that Trout broke down this early, and that his peak years are already over, is disappointing.
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