Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are a dynamic duo with the Angels, but Ohtani will be flying solo for a while.
Trout is looking at significant time on the shelf after suffering an injury July 3 against the Padres. On July 4, the Angels announced that the All-Star center fielder was placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist.
Here’s the latest on Trout’s injury and what to expect going forward.
MORE: How Mike Trout’s injury could affect Angels’ plans for Shohei Ohtani trade
What is Mike Trout’s injury?
Trout injured his left wrist on a swing in the eighth inning of Los Angeles’ 10-3 loss in San Diego on July 3. He shook the wrist immediately after fouling off a pitch from Nick Martinez and then put his hand behind his back to ease the discomfort.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 4, 2023
After being checked by a trainer, Trout walked off the field and into the clubhouse in the middle of the at-bat. Pinch hitter Mickey Moniak completed the plate appearance by swinging and missing at the next pitch for a strikeout that was charged to Trout.
Trout told reporters, including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger, that he is hoping he only has a wrist sprain. He’s awaiting the results of X-rays and other tests.
“I’m just praying the results come back clean,” Trout told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “It doesn’t feel great.” He said the wrist felt “really uncomfortable,” per Fletcher, and that this is his first wrist injury.
Unfortunately for Trout, that wasn’t the case. X-rays revealed that Trout fractured a bone in his left wrist, leading to an IL stint that may keep him out for up to two months.
MORE: Explaining Mike Trout’s hamate bone fracture & recovery time
Trout initially told reporters Tuesday that he wasn’t sure whether he would need surgery. However, he had surgery to repair the injury on Wednesday and is expected to return in four to eight weeks.
Trout explained that he realizes he could be out closer to two months even though other players who have suffered the injury have returned in one month.
Regardless of that timeline, he insisted that he will return this season.
Mike Trout said “of course” he will be back this season. #Angels
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 4, 2023
The Angels are scrambling to keep pace in the American League playoff race. With Monday’s loss, Los Angeles (45-42) now trails the Yankees by three games for the final wild-card spot. Trout has been a big part of the team’s offense with 18 home runs and an .862 OPS.
Mike Trout injury history
Trout, 31, has missed time because of injuries in five of the previous six seasons. It appears he’s about to make it six in seven.
He has had two significant hand/wrist ailments in his career: a torn left thumb ligament in 2017 and right wrist inflammation in 2018.
He suffered from Morton’s neuroma in his right foot in 2019, was limited to 36 games in 2021 because of a calf strain and missed time in 2022 with a rare back ailment: a costovertebral dysfunction at the T5 vertebra.
MORE: Trout on how to keep Ohtani with Angels: ‘We’ve got to get to the playoffs’
Angels OF depth chart
Los Angeles has a ready internal option to take Trout’s place on the active roster: Jo Adell, who had two brief stints with the club in June but has otherwise spent the season at Triple-A Salt Lake. Adell was called up when Trout hit the IL.
Adell, 24, was once considered a prized outfield prospect, but his hitting has kept him from claiming a full-time role (career .623 OPS in the equivalent of a full season, 561 plate appearances, spread over four years).
