OC Register: Angels’ Mike Trout to miss rest of season with another tear in his knee

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — Mike Trout added another crushing development to a career that has gone tragically off the rails in recent years.

The Angels’ embattled star now has a second tear in his left meniscus, leading to another knee surgery that will cost him the rest of the season, the team announced on Thursday.

“He’s devastated,” General Manager Perry Minasian said when revealing the news. “I was too, to be honest with you. I’m not the emotional type but being in the room and hearing the news with him was tough. Nobody wants to play more. Nobody cares about this building, this fan base, this team more than he does.”

Trout did not speak to reporters, but he released a statement on social media.

“Playing and competing is a huge part of my life,” he wrote. “This is equally as heartbreaking and frustrating for me as it is for you, the fans. I understand that I may have disappointed many, but believe me, I will do everything I can to come back stronger.”

Trout’s teammates and others around him said he’s been distraught in the past couple of days over the development.

“He’s as pissed off as anybody and rightfully so,” catcher Logan O’Hoppe said. “This guy can’t catch a break and he takes care of his body. It’s not like he gets hurt and then doesn’t do things the right way behind the scenes. He does everything in his power to prevent that. I think that’s the most frustrating part for him. And I know if if I were in those shoes, like I was last year (after suffering a shoulder injury), that was the most frustrating part for sure.”

Minasian was optimistic about Trout returning strong in 2025, going so far as to predict that he’d win his fourth American League MVP award.

He said the Angels will go into the winter planning on Trout having a prominent spot in the 2025 lineup, although he said it’s too early to say if the longtime center fielder will need to move to a corner outfield spot or even DH.

“We’ll get to that further down the line,” Minasian said. “I’m not ready to answer that.”

He also said they would have “contingencies” for Trout’s absence, just as they do for all players.

Trout, who turns 33 in a week, has missed significant time each of the past four seasons. He suffered a strained calf that cost him more than four months in 2021. He had a back injury that kept him out for about five weeks in 2022. Last season, he missed the final three months after suffering a broken hamate bone. This year, he will miss five months with the two tears to his knee.

In all cases except for the back injury, he was out for longer than anticipated.

This injury came with an expected timeline of one to two months, and Trout was heading toward a return just under three months after surgery. He got as far as playing a game at Triple-A Salt Lake last week.

Trout played two innings, but then came out because he said he felt something in his knee. He returned to Southern California and underwent an MRI exam on Thursday. Trout said it showed just inflammation and scar tissue, and he would be running again “any day.”

He did not resume running over the weekend. On Monday night, he called Minasian from home and told him that the pain was suddenly worse than it had been.

Trout had another MRI on Wednesday, and the second tear was revealed.

There’s no indication that Trout did any type of baseball workouts between the two MRIs, so it’s unclear what happened.

“There’s no event,” Minasian said. “This is not somebody that was out playing one-on-one basketball. This guy is committed to getting back. I know everybody is ‘What happened? Why?’ I get it. I have the same questions.

“That being said, things happen. And sometimes that’s the answer. Unfortunate things happen. And there doesn’t have to be some outrageous event to explain it.”

All of it casts a shadow over a career that is still going to land Trout in the Hall of Fame, but now with a significant asterisk because of what could have been.

Trout has six years left on his 12-year, $426 million contract, which Minasian said is plenty of time for him to change the narrative, starting next year.

“He’s gonna come back next year, win the MVP, hit 70 home runs,” Minasian said. “Book it.”

Minasian later doubled down on that lofty prediction: “That’s not a joke. I believe It. I think he’s gonna come back with a vengeance. I think he’s gonna be as good as he’s ever been.”

One of the reasons for his belief is that the Angels spent some time during this injury analyzing his swing in recent years, and just in the last week they presented Trout with some ideas on how he could get better.

“There were some adjustments he was really excited about making,” Minasian said. “He’s going to be in the middle of the lineup. He’s going to carry this club, like he’s done in the past.”

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NOTES

Infielder Luis Rengifo was feeling better a day after coming out of the game because of aggravating the left wrist injury that landed him on the injured list earlier in the month. Manager Ron Washington said Rengifo wanted to play on Thursday night, but he gave him another day off anyway. “Sometimes you’ve got to protect the player,” Washington said. …

The Angels signed 18th-round draft pick David Mershon, a shortstop from Mississippi State, for $405,000, just before the Thursday deadline. The Angels ended up signing 19 of their 21 draft picks. Mershon was a draft-eligible sophomore, so he had some leverage to return to school. The Angels were able to get him signed with the money they had left over after third-round pick Ryan Prager decided to return to Texas A&M. Minasian said getting Mershon “somewhat makes up for” losing Prager. The Angels will receive a compensation pick at the end of the third round of next year’s draft in exchange for failing to sign Prager. …

O’Hoppe was named the Angels’ nominee for the MLB Players Alumni Association’s Heart and Hustle Award, which goes to a player who “demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.” Next month fans will have a chance to pick among the 30 team nominees to select an overall winner.

UP NEXT

Mets (RHP Paul Blackburn, 4-2, 4.41 ERA) at Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 8-9, 2.96 ERA), Friday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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[jsnpritchett]

Look, I get wanting to support your guy, but making crazy statements like this isn't helping anyone at all.

“He’s gonna come back next year, win the MVP, hit 70 home runs,” Minasian said. “Book it.”

Minasian later doubled down on that lofty prediction: “That’s not a joke. I believe It. I think he’s gonna come back with a vengeance. I think he’s gonna be as good as he’s ever been.”

[totdprods]

Kinda cool account, hadn’t seen it before 

[Stradling]

44 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

Look, I get wanting to support your guy, but making crazy statements like this isn't helping anyone at all.

“He’s gonna come back next year, win the MVP, hit 70 home runs,” Minasian said. “Book it.”

Minasian later doubled down on that lofty prediction: “That’s not a joke. I believe It. I think he’s gonna come back with a vengeance. I think he’s gonna be as good as he’s ever been.”

Nor is it hurting anything. 

[Angelsjunky]

APRIL 27, 2025: COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!! FOURTH MVP!!!!

MAY 12:

 

Edited August 2 by Angelsjunky

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

APRIL 27, 2025: COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!! FOURTH MVP!!!!

MAY 12:

 

MAY 13th “long COVID”

[jsnpritchett]

10 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Nor is it hurting anything. 

Just don't see the point in setting expectations like that. 

[fan_since79]

Just found out this minute. 

I don't care anymore about baseball...

[fan_since79]

44 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

APRIL 27, 2025: COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!! FOURTH MVP!!!!

MAY 12:

 

Yep, that's about it.

 

[arch stanton]

The Angels signed 18th-round draft pick David Mershon, a shortstop from Mississippi State, for $405,000, just before the Thursday deadline. The Angels ended up signing 19 of their 21 draft picks. Mershon was a draft-eligible sophomore, so he had some leverage to return to school. The Angels were able to get him signed with the money they had left over after third-round pick Ryan Prager decided to return to Texas A&M. Minasian said getting Mershon “somewhat makes up for” losing Prager. The Angels will receive a compensation pick at the end of the third round of next year’s draft in exchange for failing to sign Prager. …

 

So now everybody sees the difference between being an Aggie and being a Mississippi State Bulldog? A&M has thousands of boosters willing to fork out the cash to compete in any sport. MSU, not so much

[Erstad Grit]

6 hours ago, Stradling said:

Nor is it hurting anything. 

I wouldn't want my boss publicly declaring a goal for me which I new was impossible to reach.

It makes Perry look like a moron if he honestly believes Trout will hit 70 next year.

Perry could have just said "I have full confidence that Trout will be starting in the all-star game next year" and that would have gotten the point across.

[T.G.]

2 hours ago, Erstad Grit said:

I wouldn't want my boss publicly declaring a goal for me which I new was impossible to reach.

That because you lack "grit."

[T.G.]

The elephant in the room here is that it sounds like Minasian will be back.

[arch stanton]

Well if you promised him a team built around Mike Trout then you can't really judge him a failure until you get to see what that might look like

[Stradling]

“I think he will hit 70 home runs” is declaring a goal. Jesus. 

[katie]

14 hours ago, Stradling said:

MAY 13th “long COVID”

Not on my birthday 

[Stradling]

Just now, katie said:

Not on my birthday 

Because of Covid you no longer have birthdays. 

[katie]

 

[Jeff Fletcher]

9 hours ago, Erstad Grit said:

I wouldn't want my boss publicly declaring a goal for me which I new was impossible to reach.

It makes Perry look like a moron if he honestly believes Trout will hit 70 next year.

Perry could have just said "I have full confidence that Trout will be starting in the all-star game next year" and that would have gotten the point across.

I don’t think anyone took him literally, as if he’ll be upset if Trout hits 40 and finishes 9th in MVP.

Also, a lot of people here seem to want to hear Perry announce that they can’t be good next year, but no one seems to care how the players would feel about that. 

[Dtwncbad]

21 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I don’t think anyone took him literally, as if he’ll be upset if Trout hits 40 and finishes 9th in MVP.

Also, a lot of people here seem to want to hear Perry announce that they can’t be good next year, but no one seems to care how the players would feel about that. 

I would really love to hear your personal “off the top of my head” rough list of who could be top candidates to be the next GM (should Minasian be departing).

[Blarg]

17 hours ago, totdprods said:

Kinda cool account, hadn’t seen it before 

Very good description of the meniscus and it's importance to the structure and stability of the knee. We've been down this road too many times, my wife had both knees repaired and I had my left knee done in December.

The doctor here does guess as to what the extent of his injury inially was and that is probably because of the second injury. That tear he described for athletes isn't always sewn back together, instead they remove the fragment and clean up the outer edges. You end up with less cushioning in that knee joint that can cause popping noises or stiffness before you get it warmed up. You can still play on it but as the doctor said it can accelerate arthritis.  

Mike is a redass player. He doesn't know any cruising speed, he goes all out and I'm sure he pushed the rehab boundaries because he is just wired that way to never accept a 2nd best result. He would benefit from being strapped to a gurney for the next three months so that knee has the slightest chance to survive Mike Trout in a PT regimen. Hopefully the doctor prescribes no tractor tire tipping for the rest of his life. 

 

[BTH]

8 hours ago, T.G. said:

The elephant in the room here is that it sounds like Minasian will be back.

Idk.

His presser after the deadline made it sound like he won’t be back.

[Erstad Grit]

2 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I don’t think anyone took him literally, as if he’ll be upset if Trout hits 40 and finishes 9th in MVP.

Also, a lot of people here seem to want to hear Perry announce that they can’t be good next year, but no one seems to care how the players would feel about that. 

i agree, but still a strange comment.

Why not just say "I see Trout returning to 40hr and MVP contention"?

It's almost like his words are demanding we not take him serious. 

 

Edited August 2 by Erstad Grit

[Jeff Fletcher]

21 minutes ago, Erstad Grit said:

i agree, but still a strange comment.

Why not just say "I see Trout returning to 40hr and MVP contention"?

It's almost like his words are demanding we not take him serious. 

 

You’re overthinking.

i don’t think anyone’s expectations for Trout are higher than his own. 

[T.G.]

1 minute ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You’re overthinking.

Welcome to AW.