Mike Trout’s return from a calf strain has had a slight setback, Joe Maddon told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. On July 19th, Trout himself said he was “really, really close” to beginning a rehab assignment. One week later, that rehab assignment still hasn’t begun because he still “feels something,” Maddon says. “He just feels it a little bit in that area, when he really tries to move quickly.”
The health of their superstar outfielder is tremendously important for an Angels club at an important inflection point of the season. As noted by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they are “trying to decide course”, with the July 30th trade deadline fast approaching. The team is currently straddling the .500 mark with a record of 49-49. They are 11 games back of the Astros in the AL West and 5 1/2 back of Oakland for the second wild card spot, but with four other teams between them. FanGraphs pegs their playoff odds at 8.8%, with just over two months left to gain ground on their competitors.
Any sort of delay to Trout’s return could further deflate the team’s playoff aspirations. Trout has been considered among the most elite players in baseball for a decade now. And before getting hurt, his 2021 numbers were somehow even better than his own otherworldly standards. In 36 games, Trout produced a slash line of .333/.466/.624, good enough for a wRC+ of 193, a few notches above his career mark of 172.
Although the club recently called up top prospect Brandon Marsh to try to cover center field in Trout’s absence, it’s almost impossible for anyone to match the level of production that a healthy Trout can provide.
Shocking
He is the most talented player in the game but that contract looks awful when you look at how often he actually plays
That is the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard. Trout is worth every penny of that contract and more. You want to question a contract? Take a look at what Upton and Rendon are getting to bat in the low 200’s and sit on the injured list half the time!
If you look at the amount of money teams pay guys in free agency in comparison to Mike Trout’s production, Trout is worth like $70mm AAV.
When he actually plays. He’s missed at least a month in each of the past 5 seasons. That does not bode well for the future regardless of how good he is.
Okay then. 5/6 of $70mm is $58mm. So I’d say he is still well worth the $37mm the Angels are paying him.
That’s pretty ignorant MZ.
This is the first injury Trout has had that has been concerning.
But why would you know anything about the best player in baseball prior to making a comment on the World Wide Web.
You’re just like most people who post without knowing a thing about the topic.
Agreed! This is not like Mike. I find myself wondering, if it wasn’t more serious ie torn ligament etc. However, you don’t ket Mike Trout in his prime go. You build around him. Period. (He would have dealt Willie Mays in Prime.
It is ridiculous but partially true, he has had some bad luck with injuries, but he’s still best player in the game. It’s really sad that he plays for the Angels, he could go his whole career and never see the World Series except on TV. Hopefully he gets traded somewhere before he retires that gets him there.
wiley – yet another “trade poor Trout” comment as though he is a victim.
1) Trout chose to spend his career as an Angel.
2) Trout has a full no trade clause.
3) Trout chose to spend his career as an Angel.
Please try to wrap your head around that. Tell your friends too.
@astros2017 No, not really.
Shocking!
The Angels have playoff aspirations? Really?
Why the hell not?? You got another sports team you’re following in the dead summer? To be .500 at this point is an accomplishment, but they NEED to make a trade!! Big splash!! Grab Scherzer…damn
teams above wild card standings have generally dominated angels even when they had a full roaster.
You got to remember, contracts are analyzed at more then just on the field. The fact that the team can use his image and name in any ads they desire is probably worth much more then the 35 or 40 or whatever million he makes.
Trout is incredibly under marketed.
Trout needs to make extra in CA, because he pays 13.3 percent state income tax, 3 to 4 times the gas tax of other states, and some of the highest property taxes in the US….. If Trout were in KC he would only need to make $25 million a year to have the same buying power…..and KC will not be playing in a World Series in the foreseeable future either. Lol lol
only the ones making $2,000 a year like you think about it!
Using the average miles driven and average MPG of a new vehicle in 2020 means the average driver in California pays about $250/year in gas taxes vs. $125/year for the average driver in Missouri. Are you saying a person earning over $37,000,000/year should be concerned about where he lives because he is paying an extra $125/year in gas taxes?
Yes, Southern California is an overpriced crap hole. In fact everything SF and south in that state sucks.
You should move then. I know my friends who live there love it and don’t have any intentions of moving.
I did move. I’m thrilled to be out of California.
and we’re thrilled you’re gone.
Right, I’m sure California is thrilled to have all those the upper middle class citizens leave the state.
And with so many people being able to work remotely, I doubt the exodus will stop any time soon.
The cold hard truth about CA is this: it is great if you are rich and it has more programs than most states to help the poor. It sucks if you are middle class, though.
We have the lowest housing affordability index in the nation, the highest overall tax burden, the worst business climate and taxes.
None of those bother the folks making MLB money, or the bottom tier of the income brackets. But for those of us in the middle, it hurts, and that’s why the middle class is moving out in droves.
In short, your CA experience will depend more on your income than in most states.
You have to take into account the exposure he gets from being in a big market which leads to better endorsement opportunities. That stuff balances itself out when you’re a megastar. Also a big difference in quality of life between living in LA and KC depending on his preferences.
Me too Halo11. Born and raised in OC and left 11 years ago. It was a totally different state growing up in the 70s and 80s compared to today – financially and morally bankrupt.
California has a lot of the Transplants from Boston and New York and other East Coast states
Sacramento is concerned if they are considering a 10 year exit tax. All of my friends have either left in the last 10 years are planning an exodus in the next year or two. And I mean literally all.
I was born in Detroit and was moved to Glendale in 1960 by my parents.
The Angels played Los Angels, then Dodger Stadium. It was less than a 15 minute drive to the stadium.
Since we were an American League Family, my Dad and I became Angel fans.
When they moved to Anaheim, I wasn’t going to become a Dodger fan. The Dodgers treated the Angels horribly, and I was an Angel fan, not a Los Angels fan.
That’s what makes Ronald such an idiot. The Angels are part of my identity. Not Los Angels, or California or Anaheim.
I visit California once a year, but I’m glad to be out of LA County. I will always be an Angel fan and the Angels will always be part of my identity.
By the way Prov, I wish those people who fled California would stop voting for the same policies that forced them to leave.
Any more Fox News takes you wanna drop in here?
Halo – I’m happy to say all of the Californians moving to Tennessee left because of the failed liberal policies that ruined the state. At least everyone I’ve spoken with about it. They all left for the same reasons we did. And I didn’t hear that on Fox News. It’s hard for liberals to imagine that people actually have the ability to critically think rather than live their lives based on the agendas they are fed daily.
Fox News? Like Fox News can compete to the indoctrination by the Education System, Entertainment Industry, News Media or big Internet companies.
Of course those indoctrination centers can’t compete with common sense.
Was Fox News around in 1997? Fox News had nothing to do with me leaving California and nothing to do with me realizing California was not the place I wanted to start a family.
I’m thrilled I’m out out of California.
So am I (AZ). As well as thousands per month. The amount of businesses
moving from CA to Az is amazing.
Keep politics off this site you annoying boomers.
Unless it’s politics you agree with, right?
No, all politics. This is a baseball site. Save that for your knitting circle on facebook.
I saw the word “dweeb” before you edited. Are you 12?
You’re far too old to be a dweeb so I deleted that part.
So how old am I?
Well you were going on about “growing up in the 70s and 80s” in so cal, so I’m assuming you’re at least 50 something.
Trout is 2nd in the AL in war bro.
I was wrong it wont let me edit
Wow, it’s pretty difficult to have to the dumbest take ever on a website such as this, but you did it. Congratulations. I’m not even mad, I’m impressed!
I say let him stay down the Angels aren’t a playoff team this year get fully healthy and we’ll see you in the spring
I’ve said the same thing about Shane Bieber and the Indians.
It’s kinda crazy that he hasn’t played more than 140 games in a season since 2016.
I get it that he is a top talent in baseball, however, you have to wonder if the return they could get for a guy like him would make them a better team and also a more balanced team. You could legitimately get 4-5 major league or close to major league ready players for him.
Given the fact that after 2021 Trout is still owed roughly $320MM over 9 years, combined with the fact that he will turn 30 on 8/7/21, I’m not sure his trade value is near what it would have been prior to signing his now-famous extension on 3/20/19. Also, his contract provides full no-trade protection (even if it didn’t he will acquire 10 & 5 rights in the very near future if he hasn’t already – started 2021 with 9.070 years service).
Point being that unless the Angels eat the majority of the remaining salary, the return on a Trout trade won’t be near what people might expect in a pure baseball move. And that’s when Trout is 100% healthy…
Also Trout is a consistent 9 WAR player so unless all 5 of those guys turn into everyday regulars or better (which would be an impossibly good trade), who ever gets Mike Trout wins that Trade every time. Even if you bank on Tout only putting up 6 WAR because he will be hurt, then 3 of them need to be everyday regulars or better, which is still incredibly rare.
To me, it’s very comparable to the Griffey situation in Seattle. Seattle ended up turning losing Griffey into being a much more well-rounded team – they didn’t get any jaw-dropping players, but they brought back Cameron to replace Griffey, albeit not as productive.. Not to mention, if a team was willing to take on his contract, not only do you get the players in return, you’d have $40mil to spend on other players.
It is crazy, but out of context it’s meaningless.
I doubt he’s going to get another tumor in his foot. I doubt his brother in law is going to die again. With the thing he puts on his hand, I doubt he’s going to injure his thumb again.
This is the ONLY injury that is the least bit concerning.
People look at Trouts time away without understanding anything about his time away.
The Angels fanbase have been talking about a healthy next season for a decade. Incompetent franchise.
The Angels are a frustrating franchise.
tell me about it! it’s not just spending mega bucks on position players. it’s scouting and development that is nearly non-existent. the other day a couple of minor leaguers who have been to other teams complained about living conditions and foods provided during the season. arte never spends money when it doesn’t make double instantly. a few years ago he talked about building up the dominican operation to the standards of other teams. never heard about it afterwards and you can see the facility in tethers from a map and pictures.
I have been considering who my allegiance will go to after this season, when my Indians cease to exist. Had considered the Angels, being that I live in SoCal.
Then I came to my senses.
Suffer, thanks for that post.
I’m assuming that name, Indians, not Cleveland is part of your identity.
It’s not going to stop until people stand up. Hopefully the Braves will draw that hard line. I’m disappointed the Indians did not.
It wont be long till they go after the National Anthem and change the last word to Guard.
These people are sick.
If a baseball team’s mascot is part of your identity, instead of the city name, that’s pretty pathetic. You should really try and get an identity that is unique and makes you a person, not a sitcom trope.
Los Angels Angels, California Angels, Anaheim Angels, Los Angels Angels of Anaheim, Los Angels Angels.
I’ve been an Angel fan for 60 years. My first game was at Chavez Ravine.
Ronald. you’re an idiot.
I did the same when the Redskins changed their name. I’m also in So Cal, so I tried switching to the Rams, but always found myself watching the Skins games. It’ll pass…..it sucks, but it will pass.
Wow…. you seriously care about the team mascot than the city name? That’s incredibly sad… for you.
I almost feel bad raising my son to be an Angels fan ha ha.
i am glad we moved back to california. my kids hated atlanta when they stayed the for a brief period. both received comprehensive scholarship from a college and now making comfortable living.
“Trout has been considered among the most elite players in baseball for a decade now.” understatement of the year.
I hope his calf feels better, and the hope the rest of his cows feel well too.
It’s a young man’s game folks. The best of Mike Trout has already came and went.
“It’s a young man’s game folks. The best of Mike Trout has already came and went.”
Trout was hitting .333 AVG with .466 OBP and a 1.090 OPS prior to the injury but OK. Young players dream about putting up such numbers, but Trout has done it for 10 years. Just hope your team can get a player that can post 2 or 3 Trout like years.
I see people on here talking about he’s still worth his contract even with all the missed time. Those people are clearly out of their minds. Mike Trout is not the best player in the game anymore boys he’s been passed up by a shortstop in San Diego, a first baseman in Toronto, and his current teammate by the name of Ohtani. Missing months for a strain then claiming he still feels something there is kind of dare I say soft. It’s been five years since this guy has played a full season with missed time this year for a bruised elbow and now this strain. For the people saying he should just take the rest of the season off because the Angels aren’t winning anything, wake up the Angels never win anything they’re the Angels. He gets paid to play ball so regardless if they’re out of it or not he should be on the field.
Trout is passed by Tatis in SD as the best player in the game, despite Tatis never having played a full season? He “misses months for a strain” and is “soft” despite never having less than a 6.9 WAR season in a full season since 2012? Even in his 114-game abbreviated 2017 season he put up a 7.8 WAR.
RunDMC
Come back in 10 years and let’s compare Tatis and Trout see what they’ve accomplished so far Mike Trout has 3 MVPs 300+ on runs
Then we can compare who’s the best player of the two
@MysteryTeam Ohtani has a WAR of 6.2 this year. Does it make hiim the best player in the game? Not in my book, he is the best player this year. You need to do it year in and year out to be the best. Trout is still the best player in the game. Tatis is not going to stack up well against Trout when he doesn’t have any seasons of 8+ WAR.
Ohtani has the best chance at overtaking Trout as the best in the game, but he needs to do it more than 1 year.
How many people thought Ohtani was any good at the beginning of this year.
I can’t count the number of times I had to defend Ohtani’s season last year.
Even earlier in the year, people were saying he should give up pitching or he should be a relief pitcher.
Now after 1/2 season those same people are saying he’s the best player in the game.
If Ohtani does this for three seasons, then maybe he’s the best player in the game.
You’re absolutely right if you ignore, stats, the sight test, opinions of players and FO folk and this message board.
bk. A lot of fans are proving how little they know about baseball.
Why they proudly display their ignorance on the World Wide Web is beyond me.
MT – You have no clue how severe a grade two strain can be, especially in the calf/achillies area.. The only injury more severe is a complete rupture.
the best ability is availability.
Pujols and Miggy thank you!
I think he earns WAR while he’s on the injured list lol. The baseball writers have him all hyped up so they have to cut him slack.
No hype necessary. He has been one of the best players in baseball history during his career.
Gotta amputate, you say? A trout with a peg leg.
Wouldn’t it be a peg fin?
He’s the greatest of his era with plenty of great ball ahead of him. He’s also turning 30 and injuries start to nag at that age.
Give him the rest of the year off. Get him as healthy as possible. Gear up for 2022.
Mike Trout’s contract will turn out like Stanton’s. It’s going hold the team down for years without winning a thing.
So they’ll be able to find a suitor that will rid them of $265M — what’s the problem then?? Trout misses some time and he is lumped in with Stanton…lol.
Trade him to Philly
It’s his achilles and he is trying to avoid surgery IMO.
LMAO another internet doctor. “I’ve never been to medical school and I’ve never even met Mike Trout let alone examined his injured calf, but regardless of all that I feel confident in publicly posting an opinion that he’s torn his ACL, probably because I’m one of those internet posters who assumes the worst in everything and/or post worst case scenarios for the sole purpose of starting arguments. Aren’t I so cool and smart????”
Who is this guy? I’ve never heard of him.
Another thing I took flak for. This was trouble as soon as six weeks to eight weeks went to 60 days.
This is going to be more than double minimum time back.
I agree that Trout’s injury is obviously worse than originally thought if he’s still “feeling something” two months later, but you do know that 60 days is roughly equivalent to eight weeks, right? The move to the 60-day IL was just administrative to temporarily remove him from the 40-man roster and create some roster flexibility. He’s been eligible to be activated since July 17. The IL move did not affect his timetable.
Double his original timetable? I don’t know about that. The injury would have to be significantly worse than originally thought for that to be the case, and it’s quite rare for doctors at that level to get it so incredibly wrong. This isn’t Dr. Hatfield’s country practice here, these are some of the most experienced and highest paid orthopedic specialists in the world working for these teams.
Six weeks is 42 days. When they were saying he could be back in six weeks. I think most people were expecting him back around that mark.
When they put him on the 60 day DL, that meant he was going to be longer than the maximum estimated return. That’s what was troubling.
That’s not nothing. It now looks like it may be longer than double the minimum.
The other injuries don’t concern me at all, however a soft tissue injury that won’t heal is a problem.
I guess I missed double the MINIMUM. Sorry, that’s my bad. Yes it looks like it could end up being 12 weeks or more. We’re nearly there now. It is curious that this is taking so long to heal, I’ll grant that. However, those who say he should just punt the rest of the season and “heal up” have obviously never played sports competitively. Every day of having to sit on the sidelines is torture. Players want to play. It’s as simple as that.
This is where an understanding of the grades of strains is helpful. Grade 1 – small tears in the tissue. Grade 2 – larger tear in the tissue all the way up to.. Grade 3 which is complete rupture.
We’ve never known (as the Angels have never said) how close Trout’s injury came to complete rupture. If you do some research, you can learn that the healing time for a grade 2 strain can run anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months depending on how bad the strain was, remembering that anything up to complete rupture counts as Grade 2.
We’re talking about an elite level athlete, and they’ll notice the smallest difference compared to what they consider normal. I’m not a doctor, I just have experience with a bad grade 2 strain (bicep) two years ago, and I still “feel” something different. My ortho says its just scar tissue.
You do understand the math, right? 8 weeks = 56 days—so it’s doom & gloom over what would amount to an extra 4 days? Calf injuries can be problematic for someone who drives much of his value from having healthy legs.
Wow Mark, you still have the same opinion you had three weeks ago? Nothing like an enlightened opinion.
Lol the comments against Trout are laughable. I get the missing time. It happens. You gotta be reasonable with the hit by pitch injuries. He’s right around 10% of time missed. In full context with MLB or other sports, that’s not bad especially considering the impact made when he’s playing. The whole, he’s been passed up by other players lol. That’s been going on forever and guess what, those guys get hurt or regress so stop or pay attention to baseball for more than a season. And every year people say trade Trout…. c’mon. Dude is a low key content superstar. Yeah we want him in the playoffs, but Arte Moreno runs the team and doesn’t have a good track record. Hopefully things turn around. But Trout is a multi MVP winner and always in discussion as best player in baseball for 10 years, and yet naysayers keep doggin the guy. Relax, he’ll come back and prove you wrong again.
I agree, the comments about his time away are ignorant.
A foot tumor that is not going to return. A brother in laws death that I don’t think will happen again. A thumb injury that is 100% preventable with the new pad he wears.
I don’t mind people talking about this soft tissue injury, it is a concern. But being concerned about the previous missed time is an example of baseball ignorance.
I have no idea how so many people can be this ignorant about the greatest player of a generation.
The Angels need to look at moving him to LF. Let Marsh take over in Center. Move Upton to RF.
Marsh needs a shave and a haircut.
No he doesn’t. Did you see that headfirst slide into home yesterday? Hair everywhere!
So Arte will most likely end up choking on another multi-year mega dollars contract. Nothing new there.
We need a bull pen.
Perhaps the Angels can at least; designate Cishek, promote Ortega and bring in Bachman. Thats all internal. A single trade for a BP arm would be an added bonus.
We get it already, most the league and half of the contenders need a BP to. Look at the Richard Rodriguez article. Even the few good Pens are still looking for more arms. You never have enough. 😉
The Angels need more Relief Pitching. You mean Claudio, Sledgers and Guerra were worthless.
Who could have seen that coming.
You never know, RP’s are fickle year to year. Even the talented and high priced Yankee pen is struggling. But I guess you knew that would happen to. You need to loan Perry your crystal ball. 😉
RPs are very fickle. But it doesn’t take a crystal ball to figure out Claudio, Slegers and Guerra had almost no chance of being RPs that could give quality innings.
I don’t know who is going to be good, but when people have a history of being this bad, it’s pretty darn obvious.
But the worst part is they took up the slots of potential pitchers who had a chance to be good.
It doesn’t take too much baseball sense to figure that one out. Perry exhibited no sense this off-season.
Sense you say? It doesn’t make any sense to bash Perry for 1 off-season with limited funds to spend (30m), with many spots to fill. A starting Ss, a back up C, 2 SP’s, 5 RP’s. Actually, you should be praising him. He got good value with all that for only 30m, even with a few not working out. Just Cobb and both Iggy’s alone will have a 30m value combined next year or more.
Oh, and don’t hate on Perry for his suppose to be top 4 SP’s that he inherited. With 3 of them stinking up the joint.
At the end of the day, don’t hate. Give him a chance.
The only people who don’t understand by now why this off-season was an incompetent mistake are stupid.
I’m going to assume you are just stubborn and refuse to admit when you are wrong. Even you should be able to see this off-season was a foreseeable fiasco.
Because no one is that stupid. Perry wont make the same mistake next year. I have faith he will actually get some pitchers who at least have a chance to be good. I hope he’s not so stupid he does the same thing again.
Don’t hate appreciate, well duh! Of coarse Perry will get a little more pitching next year over this season. With the same needs, and twice the possible resources to spend. As you say, “that stupid guy” will get it done.
BTW: Hope you get the help you need, it’s never to late.
I don’t understand how it should be so “obvious” that the Angels off-season was a failure. What are the “smart” moves that were there to make? In the real world, not some fantasy fact-free world.
The Angels had a very low budget. They cannot trade for top talent because they do not have any upper-level prospects teams want. So do not tell me they could have made trades for top relievers. That was not realistic. I’m sure it was tried. To get value in trades you must have value to provide in return.
Why do you think the Angels drafted 19 college pitchers? They are trying desperately to rebuild their upper minors as quickly as they possibly can for two reasons. 1) to have access to top talent that can be called up to help them directly, and 2) to have valuable pieces to offer on the trade market.
But the 2022 offseason will provide much more opportunity for Mr. Minasian and his team. Albert Pujols is finally coming off the books along with Andrew Heaney, Dylan Bundy, and Jose Quintana. Those 4 alone account for nearly $50M off the CBT payroll that can now be allocated elsewhere. Plus the CBT maximum is sure to increase, perhaps significantly, in the new CBA. Only question is whether it will take a work stoppage of some sort to get the new CBA into place.
Well this is unfortunate news. This years small playoff chance just got microscopic. Get healthy my man, just get healthy.
He’s the rich man’s Byron Buxton. Or is Buxton the poor man’s Mike Trout?
Were you going for the joke of the day? Because the numbers don’t comply with reality.
The amazing Ohtani keeps on amazing. He really took off hitting right about the time Trout went out. It will be flat out awesome when we get “Show Time” and Trouty paired back up again. The Angels, the best MLB show on TV will be back soon. Check your local listings. 😉
@SwingtheFNbat I think they already put his name on the MVP trophy this year. He had two games where he gave up 4 runs and 7 runs in the first inning.. If you take away those 2 bad innings, his ERA would be well below 2.00. Even though they ended up winning both those games, it still seems to be the best way to beat him early when he struggles with command at times.