Plagued by injury in recent years, Mike Trout is again set to miss time after being diagnosed with a torn meniscus. Los Angeles Angels General Manager Perry Minasian announced Tuesday that the three-time American League MVP will undergo surgery on his left knee.
The procedure is reportedly not considered to be a season-ender for Trout, who does not yet have a timetable for his recovery.
“It’s just frustrating, but we’ll get through it,” a somber Trout told reporters Tuesday in the Angels’ clubhouse, where the team was preparing for a game against the visiting Phillies. While playing all nine innings the day before in the Angels’ 6-5 win over Philadelphia, Trout scored a run and did not give an external indication of any physical issue.
“It’s crazy, because when I look back, I don’t even know when I did it,” Trout said Tuesday. He added that when jogging back to the dugout after the third inning, he felt “a little bit of an ache” but didn’t think much of it. In the later innings, he started to feel something and mentioned it to the team.
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“It was just sore,” Trout told reporters, “and I was kind of telling myself that maybe I just banged it on something and didn’t realize it.”
After the game, Trout’s knee was “really sore,” he said. Following a “tough” night of sleep, further tests were conducted Tuesday.
“Someone’s got to pick it up,” said Angels Manager Ron Washington. “We’re going to show up there every day and go play. Hopefully someone can pick it up.
“We’ll never replace Mike. Never,” Washington continued. “I just want them to be who they are and do what they can do.”
After getting off to one of the greatest career starts in baseball history, Trout has struggled to stay on the field. He hasn’t played in at least 120 games since 2019, when he won the most recent of his MVP awards, and he appeared in just 237 games over the previous three seasons combined. During that span, Trout dealt with a torn calf, a broken wrist and, in 2022, a back issue concerning enough that he sought to reassure fans his “career isn’t over.”
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This season, Trout’s 14th in a career spent entirely with the Angels, he had been off to an encouraging start. Trout was the first in the majors to reach 10 home runs and continues to be tied for the MLB lead at that number. He also has six stolen bases, his most since 2019, to go with a .220 batting average, a .325 on-base percentage and a .541 slugging percentage.
Washington said that in Trout’s absence, Mickey Moniak would get “extended playing time” in center field.
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