Angels Manager Provides Massive Mike Trout Update Amid Injury Recovery

Angels outfielder Mike Trout, on the 10-day injured list with a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left knee, hasn't been cleared for baseball activities.

Trout was placed on the 10-day injured list last Friday, two days after he jammed his knee sprinting to first base.

“I just lunged for the bag, and talking to the doctors, I had my meniscus shaved down twice and I just hit it perfectly on the bag,” the 11-time All-Star told reporters. “Both bones hit each other and I bruised both of them.”

Trout initially spoke with optimism about spending the minimum 10 days on the injured list.

However, by the time Ron Washington spoke to reporters Wednesday — one week after Trout suffered the injury — the manager revealed Trout hasn't resumed baseball activities.

“Feeling better, but he’s still not able to do baseball activities,” Washington told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group, before Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

Trout still has time to get going before he is eligible to be activated on Sunday. He was reportedly on an exercise bike Tuesday, a far cry from total inactivity.

“I’m not a medical person,” Washington said, via Fletcher. “I certainly hope the optimism Mike has is true."

There are reasons to be optimistic about Trout's recovery. He revealed there is no structural damage to his knee, and Angels general manager Perry Minisian added that the injury did not aggravate Trout's surgically repaired meniscus.

On the other hand, Trout's recent injury history suggests anything but optimism. He has played more than 100 games only once in a season since 2019. He hasn't played as many as 83 games in each of the last three seasons, each time losing significant time to a different ailment.

Trout remains an invaluable cog in the struggling Angels' lineup. Despite his poor batting average (.179) and on-base percentage (.264) in 29 games to begin the season, he had nine home runs and 18 RBIs for a team that otherwise lacks home run power.

Typically, Trout has been productive when healthy. From 2012-22, he put together one of the most dominant decades of any hitter in the game's history. He slashed .305/.418/.592 during that stretch, his 178 OPS+ easily the best in the game.

When the Angels signed Trout to a 12-year, $426.5 million extension in March 2019, it was the largest contract in baseball history.