In their most competitive season in recent years, the Los Angeles Angels suffered a massive blow on Tuesday. All-Star Mike Trout is heading to the injured list with a fractured left hamate bone after fouling off a pitch against the San Diego Padres on Monday night.
The 31-year-old is expected to be out for a handful of weeks as the typical timeline for the wrist injury to heal is approximately six-to-eight weeks.
“Just took a swing and something felt uncomfortable,” Trout said after Monday’s loss to the Padres. “Just waiting on getting some scans and hoping for the best. I’m praying for the results to come back clean. But it doesn’t feel great. Hopefully, it’s just a sprained wrist.”
“I can’t really describe the pain I felt,” Trout added. “I’ve never felt that pain ever. I’ve never had wrist problems or anything. Just a freak thing.”
Trout is in the midst of a down season — by his future Hall of Fame standards (a career .994 OPS) — as the outfielder is slashing .263/.369/.493 with 18 homers and 44 RBI, but remains one of the biggest stars in the sport. He was named to his 11th All-Star team on Sunday.
Injuries have started to pile up for the New Jersey native in recent seasons. He missed 43 games in 2022 with a rare back disorder (a costovertebral dysfunction at the T5 vertebra) and was limited to just 36 games in 2021 due to a calf strain.
Trout inked a 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension prior to the 2019 season. Despite his superstar resume — 3-time MVP, 9-time Silver Slugger — Trout has only made one trip to the postseason in his 13-year career (2014 ALDS loss to the Royals).
The Angels entered play Tuesday (45-42) just three games back of the final American League Wild Card spot. The Halo’s own a 29.8% chance of making the postseason according to Fangraphs, however, that number is likely to drop significantly without their star center fielder.
With the trade deadline rapidly approaching on Aug. 1, it’s fair to wonder what this means for the future of Shohei Ohtani in Anaheim. The two-way megastar is a free agent at the end of this season and is putting together arguably the greatest individual baseball season in MLB history.
The 28-year-old is slashing .303/.390/.664 with an MLB-leading 31 homers and 68 RBI while posting a 3.02 ERA in 16 starts this season. Ohtani leads the Angels in every single statistical category with the exception of saves (the only thing he doesn’t do for Phil Nevin’s squad is close games).
“I think it’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at [in the standings],” said Angels’ GM Perry Manasian of a potential Ohtani trade on June 20, hinting that they would not deal their All-Star in the midst of a competitive and potential playoff season.
With Trout expected to miss an extended period of time, executives around the league will likely be keeping a close eye on the Angels to see how far they fall with Ohtani as a potential trade candidate. The Japanese native is expected to sign a historic free-agent contract at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
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