The Angels have announced that Mike Trout has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left ribcage inflammation. They also announced the previously reported claim of infielder Phil Gosselin, and that outfielder Monte Harrison has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake.
At this point, there’s been no indication from the team as to how long they expect Trout to be out of action. He has missed some time recently due to back spasms, though the club avoided putting him on the IL until now. Perhaps they were waiting for the All-Star break, when the 10-day minimum absence would sting the least, though further word will surely come from the Angels in time.
Trout had been fairly healthy for the early portions of his career, playing in at least 114 games for the eight seasons from 2012 to 2019 and only coming in below 134 in one of those. He followed that up by getting into 53 of the club’s 60 games in the shortened 2020 season. Last year, however, he made it into only 36 contests, as a calf issue that didn’t initially seem serious eventually lingered and finished his season.
This year, he’s gotten into 79 of the club’s 92 games so far, already more than doubling his total from last year. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down in terms of overall production, hitting an excellent .270/.368/.599 for a 168 wRC+. He’s produced 3.8 wins above replacement already, according to FanGraphs.
Regardless of how much time he misses, it’s yet another disappointing setback in a season full of them for the Angels. Despite a hot start to the year wherein the club was 24-14 in mid-May, they’ve played at a miserable 15-39 pace since and are now 39-53 overall. The club is 10 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and seems more likely to sell than add at the deadline. Taking that into consideration, it makes sense to give Trout some time off to get healthy, rather than pushing him and potentially worsening the issue.
As for Harrison, he was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason after being released by the Marlins. Despite once being a highly-rated prospect, strikeout issues have kept him from living up to his athletic potential. Despite a 35% strikeout rate in the minors this year, he was selected to the big league for some bench/pinch running/defensive replacement duties. He played nine game but got just 14 plate appearances, striking out in eight of them, before being DFA’d. Having been previously outrighted in his career, he has the ability to reject the outright assignment and elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear which path he’s taken.
Tough blow. This will surely hurt their chances of making a late division run….
Not sure if you’re being funny or not but what run? They’re 20 out on the division and 10 out the wild card. The only run they’ll be making is going home after the season another lost season for Mike and Shohei
I’ll let you marinate on it. I got confidence you can figure out what I meant
Why does everyone keep harping on “lost” seasons from Trout and Ohtani. Did anyone ever consider that maybe they are a part of why the Angels are losing? At some point we have to realize that Trout has been there for over a decade now with zero playoff wins to show for it. And it’s not like he has been playing in a division dominated by teams. Yeah the A’s and Astros have been good, but they have never been so dominant that people have to look and say oh well they never had a chance. Trout is not the new Mickey Mantle, he is the new Ernie Banks. Great player, but not a winner.
Lol. No other response.
Interesting take sir.
I think you forgot that baseball is a team sport…
lol.
Astros have been the most conistent team in the MLB (outside the dodgers) over the last five years and there is no such thing as not a winner in a sport that requires 10 people at a time.
Smh
So? Football is a team sport too, but the QB gets an awful lot of the credit and blame. Basketball is a team sport and I think we all know how much one can impact that game.
I just think it is only fair criticism to point out that the man just about everyone in the world says is the best player in the game doesn’t really affect the game that much. Over the last decade, the Angels would have won the exact same number of playoff games with me playing instead of Trout. So really, what does it really matter how good he is?
Trout’s career has lasted a lot longer than 5 years. The first half of his career, the Astros were a joke.
The best statistical player in the game Bond’s, never won,juice or no juice. Oh, look who stopped him from that. The Angels.
Wow lot of hot takes. Baseball is unique in that a hitter gets 4-5 ABs and a pitcher pitchers every 5 days and doesn’t bat unless it’s Ohtani. Add the fact that pitchers usually don’t close out games. From a 162 game season. what an invidual baseball player can impact is much different than football. Plus this winning concept is very hyperbolic. There are more dynamics you’ve overlooked which I don’t have time to unfold. Basically consider, ownership, coaching, development, culture, status (winning/spending franchise), players, leaders, front office, direction, injuries, and some other variables. If you look across the leagues you’ll see common factors +/-. But based on what you wrote, it’s very biased and hyperbolic and way too narrow of a view towards the leagues, sports, players.
Your Rants should be directed at Arte Moreno
Your smart enough to know No MLB player can affect a team as much as any QB or star NBA player – Their ecological footprint just doesn’t set nearly as deep; ones wearing a combat boot, the other some Rainbow sandals
You put prime Sandy Koufax on the Cubs they are 3 games up on Pitt for 3rd not battling MIL/STL for the lead today
Babe Ruth on the D backs their prolly a game over .500 today
Cap – I knew if I waited long enough, you’d write something I can agree with ;O)
Since opening day 2015, only the Dodgers have won more games than Astros
@hiflew
c’mon dude you’re smarter than that. he’s got a 1.000 career ops and a gold glove. it’s not like he has a long track record of personally choking in the playoffs. it’s not like basketball where 1 guy can drag a ok team to at least a playoff appearance. he’s only been on 1 team that won more than 89 games. absolutely not his fault. he was horrible in the 3 games he appeared in back in 2014 but that’s not enough to lambast him as the reason for their failures.
@hiflew
You can’t compare 4 at bats in a game to a QB running the offense for an entire game. If it was as simple as him producing at a high level in those 4 at bats then Trout’s 1.000 career ops would’ve won him 5 or 6 rings by now.
Trout is saving himself for the World Baseball Classic!
Might be time to spend a tad less time in the weight room. Always seems this happens to the hulk type players.
Ouch my ribs are inflamed !! Put them back on the grill.
If they are in flames, shouldn’t you take them off the grill?
nicccce.
Glass man.
How in the world will Trout get to 40HRs and 150Ks when he’s on the shelf? I would never expect the impossible from the best player on earth… like 40 doubles.
He has more ABs left this year than he had in total in 2020.
He has 24 Home Runs now. He hit 17 HRs in 2020. 40 HRs seems like a good betting line. It will be close.
Since his rookie year in 2012, only 13 players have logged more innings on defense in the field, only 16 have played in more games, only 11 have had more plate appearances, only 9 have stolen more bases, one has hit more home runs, no one has scored more runs, and no one is close in fWAR.
Pretty resilient glass.
@Fink
Not the last few years. Not since he signed the extension.
Now do 2017 though now. It doesn’t matter that he played a lot of games in the mid-2010s – it’s been a half decade plus. He’a struggled to get close to a full season’s worth of action in the last half decade.
Okay. Since 2017, 556 games; same as A. J. Pollock and more than Josh Donaldson, Corey Seager, Max Muncy, Kevin Kiermaier, Teoscar Hernandez, Michael Taylor, Jorge Soler, Brandon Nimmo, Justin Upton, Miguel Sano, etc., and Trout still ranks first in fWAR since 2017.
Hi Fink Ployed,
Trout was an iron man from 2012-2016 appearing in 98.3% of his team’s games.
However, from 2017-2022 (his age 25-30 years) he has been a glass man appearing in just 69% of his team’s games. That ranks 115th among all MLB players.
To add a little more context, let’s compare Trout’s number to his future legacy peer group – the 51 outfielders who are in the BHOF who were on MLB rosters for the full six seasons of their age 25-30 years. The lowest % games played among that group is Earle Combs at 82.2% and then Larry Walker at 82.8%. The highest is Billy Williams at 99.9%.
What will be Trout’s ‘% of games played’ for the remaining 8 years of his contract (age 31-38)? I think the Angels might be concerned about that since he is and will be earning $38.1 million per year for all of those years.
out for the season……again
Prime ended with the 2019 season (arguably with the 2018 season since 2018 was the last season he was a complete player). Can be relied on for around 5 WAR at this point.
I had suggested trading him a couple of years back when he could’ve landed someone’s entire farm. I understand trading away a fan fave is difficult, but I don’t see how they plan on competing going forward.
That said, both Adell & Marsh continue to not hit, and the FO seems oblivious to it. 22-36 over their past 58 games. I’d love to hear a writer ask them whether they think that the best way for them to learn to hit is to face major league pitchers. Tork and Kelenic both got demoted, and both of them are better than Marsh & Adell.
They are #23 out of 30, with a reasonable chance at the #3 or #4 pick next year. It is way past time to tank.
I don’t think they are oblivious, what can they do?
They are pretty much locked into Walsh and Rendon and seeing if Adell or Marsh can play.
They spent on their pen and Stassi.
They have no middle infield. They should not have gone into the year with that infield. That’s the only thing that I blame them for.
Halo11Fan
They are pretty much locked into Walsh and Rendon and seeing if Adell or Marsh can play.
=================================
I’m not completely dismissing that. Sometimes a player maxes out on his AAA ABs, and sink-or-swim against MLB. You can’t stay a AAA player forever.
That said, Adell was up, then down, then up, then down, and now up again. If they needed an OF because of injuries, and were tied for the WC slot, you do what you have to do. Assuming they know they are out of it, I see no reason to bring him up again. If anything, I would set a target of a 2/1 K/W for a month before he came up again, and I would let him know that.
Marsh is even more ridiculous. Marsh has less than 100 AAA ABs. As I’ve mentioned before, as bad as it looks, it is probably worse. He has 22 Ks in his last 44 ABs. That’s an easy calculation of 300 Ks in 600 ABs. I literally have friends in their 60s that would strike out less.
Basically, this isn’t a guy that is 26, and spend 2.5 seasons in AAA, where there is no more development left. He needs development time in AAA, or he will follow Adell’s path.
He has a No trade clause so unless the trade scenarios were to SD or LAD your probably outta luck and no guarantee he’d even sign off on those 2 teams
He’s not leaving Newport Coast, somewhere where he can go out to dinner and half the people don’t recognize him and the other half are more enthralled with the Real Housewife of Oc that’s at the table next to him.
I honestly don’t know if they ever approached him, but they should. There could be a real interest on Trout’s part to play in the playoffs and perhaps even get a ring.
To be honest, if his ambition is to simply play out the next 8 years with no more ambition that to be left alone, I’d lose a little respect.
I agree, and Id like to know as well, especially his answer/reasoning
But if I had to take a guess (Ive been around this dude like 50 times/tho never spoken longer than 30 second periods to him) Id say he just might be the type that doesn’t care to change area codes despite the implications
He’d really fit SD well tho, I think he’d take the extra 50 mile drive to pull that off ….not an LA dude by any means from my encounters
Huge living difference from LA Angels to La Dodgers
Sd is much more on par w OC living …lotta people HATE LA (Like Rendon ) and ME who work in LA but still chose the Oc to live even w the commute (which has been much better post Covid)
Trout is a money maker for the franchise. Wins are of course important, but the #1 concern for any owner is profit. Few players are more marketable.
Might have aggravated it when we stayed in the dugout like a Pansy after his manager staged a bushwack over nothing.
Ever notice how thick Trout has become over the last decade? Very Bondish. Became power guy, few SB’s always hurt. Reminds me of the “era”. I’m sure (?) this Angel is clean as an Angel. He’s such a nice guy ,star , I should be banished for even suggesting the possibility.
Only the bad rotten people in sports juice. Lol
For reference pinterest.ca/pin/450922981410804324/
Trout still has elite speed; he chooses not to run.
He’s one of the greatest ever to play. No question.
Look at the pic on the thumbnail and compare eight years ago.
The media used to do that with Bonds all the time. Truly the greatest of all time.
Thats because he’s gotten injured stealing multiple times.
You know who else chooses not to run? Jerry Seinfeld against his old high school nemesis Duncan Meyer.
Damn that Mr. Bevalacqua
According to Statcast’s Sprint Speed, Trout is one of the fastest runners in MLB. He is faster than Kevin Kiermaier and Byron Buxton and just a tick behind Jo Adell.
Trout’s game is built around controlling the strike zone, OBP and SLG. No need to take unnecessary risks trying to swipe a bag especially with Ohtani, Rendon and Walsh hitting behind him.
The Angel curse maybe they should change the name to Los Angeles Devils
The LA Demons would be better.
I guess he won’t be available at the deadline now – LOL!
He hasn’t played since 7/12…can’t they make this retroactive so he would miss fewer games?
To be retroactive I think they’d have to be certain if exactly when he sustained the injury, and perhaps they aren’t.
Angels are done for this year and the foreseeable future and need to trade trout for a massive package before its 2 late. Aside from that syndergaard and whoever else has value. They need to tear it down and start over. With houston and Seattle in the division and maybe Texas if they get some starters and another bat angels are a 4th place team for the foreseeable future!
When you carry a team for as long as he has, the body eventually starts to break down.
That’s one thick neck!
Ohtani needs to be traded, there are too many holes on this team to hope again the next year will be different.
They can’t afford him and can get a ridiculous return for him now. Yes, they could wait, but you have to consider the higher than normal injury risk.
Nah, this team can run it back next year. Just trade Syndo and any other expiring contracts. There not far off if Artie spends along with the top spending clubs out there. Some MI help, a RP, and another quality starter. Then they could play with anyone. Close games fluctuate year to year, and they’ve been losing way to many close games. Whether that be 1 run or 3 runs in extra innings.
I’d love to be on board with this but that’s what I’ve been saying as an Angels fan for the last 10 years and especially the last few. Really feel we need to spread the love around a little with the contracts we already have.
The Angels are 8th in payroll. It seems Artie does tend to spend money like the top spenders. He just doesn’t spend it as wisely lol
The Angel club I saw this weekend playing the Dodgers is quite far from competing. I know Trout and Rendon are out, but even with them, they are weak at 1st, 2nd, SS, and both corner outfielders. Plus, that bullpen…….
They were playing very uninspired baseball. Maybe that’s a byproduct of the manager. IDK.
“Oh no”
Trout picked comfort and pressure free home games so this only affects his career totals.
Mike Trout
Trout…he’s like Lock Ness,we hear of him,but we never seen him.
Trout is a warning sign for all the fanboys screaming about acquiring Soto and giving him ridiculous money on a contract of ridiculous length.
One good player does not make an entire team. Nats won in 2019 because they had a well-rounded team with excellent pitching. Soto hasn’t done much to keep them out of the basement in 2022, because he can’t. Same as Trout for his entire career. Can’t win without a supporting cast.
Are you listening, Hal? Don’t trade for Soto!
Shame Trouts running into same problems as Miggy and other top stars as he ages. Hard to play at that elite level forever
As a Tiger fan I see the Halo’s futility, despite having 2 of the top 5 players in the game, sobering.
The Angels should have traded Trout before he signed his current deal. They could have restocked the farm and possibly had a chance to build around Ohtani. Now the Angels are at the point where they can’t realistically sign Ohtani long term and also have enough money to field a competitive team around them. Truly one of, if not the worst run team in the sport
So they shouldn’t have inked one of the best players ever to put on a uniform when they had the means to do it?
No…I think you meant to say Anthony Rendon instead
The Rendon contract is a totally different story. I firmly believe the Angels should have traded Trout rather than extending him. Just because they had the means to sign him, doesn’t mean it was a good idea. They still have an extremely flawed roster while also having a thin farm system. There won’t be much talent coming through their system and they don’t have much money left over to quality free agents. Trout is also about to turn 31 and is getting injured more frequently with age. By the time the Angels are competitive again, Trout will probably be in his mid 30s
Trout was a no brainer to me
Rendon was just a gut punch
I know it’s more complex than that but those are what first comes to mind
Agree Angels need to wipe the board with their drafting/player dev departments and start clean. I can only imagine there’s a bunch of lazy clock punchers and bad apples under that hood for the results they have provided this century. I’t shouldn’t be tolerated from Arte
** Id be up for trading Trout and Ohtani today if Trout would waive the NTC for what that’s worth I just think at the time Trouts ink was a NO brainer. IF he could be traded today theres still good surplus on prospects if ya scratch the other teams back a tack back a little short term bad money yourself (say Pomeraze and Will Meyers) while getting off 95+% of the backend most likely if not all of it- Trouts deal STILL has surplus Today but that pesky NTC looms
Look at the Angels record with Rendon. The Angels are so bad at third base without him that I get spending money to get him. They need him to be good, not great.
They need a bullpen. They need average production from the other positions.
As long as they keep Ohtani, their starting staff is not bad. I like Sandoval, Detmers and Ohtani as a base. They have pitchers on the way. Marsh or Adell need to be slightly above average players. That’s all.
They are bad for obvious reasons, but those reasons are not insurmountable fixes.
I like Sandoval Ohtani Detmers as well but as long as they stay at 190 payroll they won’t have enough for anything after Ohtani
Arte should spend more, even tho that land/appts around the stadium didn’t net as much as they wanted it too initially it was still over a half billion profit net short term with all upside on the back 9 –
Spending an extra 40~50 mill per year (even going over CBT ) should def be the answer these next 4 years Imo
Ronk seriously were you drunk when you wrote that?
Honestly trade the GOAT for prospects that may never pan out? I’m so sick of reading this garbage.
The Angels have plenty of time to win a couple of WS’s while Trout is still playing the game with the Angels. BTW Trout in his mid 30’s is better than 80% of the ML players.
He doesn’t act like a drama queen. He’s great with the fans. And so on.
Poor Shohei, and Trout their talent is being wasted is Anaheim, I feel so badly for them. Why because Trout signs a 12 year contract with a losing, garbage run organization. I live near Anaheim, you can’t keep up with their managerial, and general managerial changes. Shohei says “I want to win”. You could have signed with anyone but you choose Anaheim. You joined a losing organization. My conclusion. Players have no say where they play. Agents are running the show.
Johnson, Griffey, ARod and Edgar. Their talent was wasted in Seattle. What about the Cubs with Santo, Banks, Williams and Jenkins?
Why is now unique? The face is it’s not.
The Angels have had a couple hall of fame type players a few times, they never won. You need more.
Will any two Angels ever have a higher combined war than Fregosi and Chance in 64?
Tanana and Ryan pitched a few years together and Tanana was on a Hall of Fame pace until he got hurt.
This is not unique. Why people treat it as a uniquely horrible occurrence today is beyond me.
I think the ire is that unlike the teams you mentioned, the Angels have become perennial losers and are getting worse by the year. A lot of those teams that you mentioned were pretty good, average at worse, with the Cubs there wasn’t nearly the playoff opportunities. Yes you need way more than 2 top notch players, and also a strong farm system. Imho the Angels should trade Trout asap. With his injuries, and his problem with high heat that everybody knows about, don’t wait 5 years from now. Get some players. You might lose Otani in a couple of years.
But people have a chance to get out if they don’t like it.
As obvious as this is, two players don’t make a team. And I believe this is the first time these players will have a combined 12 WAR.
It’s not like these players have stared together.
Have you ever wondered why Trout never left? He’s made comments about how much better is to play back East, it was during an all-star game in Detroit. He’s from New Jersey basically across the bridge from Philly. I’ve seen him at Flyers games, Eagles games, and hanging with former Eagle Carson Wenz, but I must have missed the images of him at Ducks, Kings, Lakers, Chargers, and Rams games. Seems to have little to no interest in SoCal, which is his prerogative.
Halo1, while you make some rational points you are incorrect that Johnson, Griffey, Arod & Edgar wasted their talents in SEA. Johnson was traded to Houston for players who helped win 116 games in 2001; the same for Griffey (although he wanted out). Arod took the money and ran to Texas. Edgar was the only one who stayed, but he was damaged goods as a position player. Plus, he had business interests in SEA and his family didn’t want to leave.
However, all of them helped in building the team that beat the Angels in the ‘95 playoff game, created one of the most memorable playoff series ever between the Yankees & M’s, and led to a very competitive team between 1985-2003.
Sorry, between 1995-2003.
And the Angels led baseball in wins in 2014. But one year or two years isn’t enough. Not for the Ms and not for the Angels.
And now is competitive the name of the game?
The Angels were competitive in 95. I watched JT Snow botch a play he makes 999 times out of 1000. I remember how Rex Hudler and his stupidity cost the Angels big time.
I don’t care the Angels were competitive in 1995
Trout and Ohtani both had ample opportunities to explore the market before they chose to sign with the Angels. The org does just enough to keep fans interested without putting additional resources (or their own profits) into payroll to field a real contender. The only people I feel sorry for are the fans.
Wonky mike t another year on the il this guy can’t stay healthy
Well that explains why he was in one of his worst slumps of his career.
If you think Trout and Ohtani’s talents are getting wasted in Anaheim, Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana had a bigger gripe.
I said it then and I’ll say it again – I would not have given Trout that extension. He is a generational talent, no doubt, but you had to figure that the injuries were going to start piling up and that his best might be in the rear view. Again, not impugning Trout in any way. It’s just that Father Rime gets us all, even generational baseball players in their 30’s.
Father Time* (sigh)
Look at what players are going to be paid. Trout was a freaken bargain.
I agree. He’s starting to like Albert Puhols.
Ohtani…baseballs first $50M/yr player.
I can see that and I don’t think the MLB will allow that to happen in Disneyland.
The Angels need to blow up the team and start over. Moreno isn’t going to keep throwing good money after bad to try to make the team a contender. Trading Ohtani should get back a haul and he can begin the quick rebuild. Trading Trout would be tough, given his salary and his frequent injuries. I have no idea what they could do with Rendon either.
Stanton has roughly $144.5M left on his contract. Trout has roughly $315.5M left on his. Both have no-trade clauses.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Trout, a New Jersey boy, would accept a trade to New York, where he’d finally be under the brightest spotlight. I don’t know if the Yankees would make that trade though. And although Stanton’s a SoCal boy, I don’t know if he would either.
What do you think?
I think you should put down the crack pie.
pipe*
Self-owned.
The Yankees are not trading for Trout. I could see the Phillies doing it before the Yankees. I think Trout is great. He’s a HOF’er but I wouldn’t touch that contract.
That’s my thinking too. Maybe under George the Yankees would’ve gone for Trout. Heck, under George they might’ve sprung for Trout AND Stanton. But the Yankees are Hal’s team now.
I think Mike Trout is faking it, kinda sending a message to Arte Moreno.
Angels need to trade trout and ohtani.improve in international scouting. Fire their president of baseball operations and gm. Hit the reset button. Their farm system is weak. 4-5 years they will be competitive
Welcome to your age 30 season and regularly pulled muscles with slower recovery times. Rush back, pull another muscle from lack of use while healing.
Bryce Harper wants to play baseball – hurt or otherwise. I don’t get the same impression from Trout.
Angel threads always attract the loudest and most uneducated arm chair GMs that MLBTR has to offer. It’s like they’re chomping at the bit for any Angel news just soo they can pile on their negative takes and monumentally genius ideas about how they would have traded Ohtani and Trout to the Yankees, Dodgers, or Phillies for a set of bubblegum trading cards from 1967 and Babe Ruth’s game worn jock strap.
Realistically, you’d have to throw in both Ohtani and Trout to get that jockstrap.