More injury issues for Angels' Mike Trout as he ends up on IL

Another year, and another trip to the injured list for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.

The Angels are placing Trout on the 10-day injured list on Thursday with a right hamstring strain. He was injured on Wednesday night in the Angels' 8-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks while running to first base. 

Trout offered no timetable for his return, but did say he is hoping it will be a short trip to the IL.

Injuries continue to sidetrack the latter part of Trout's career

The 34-year-old Trout has played in more than 100 games just two times over the past seven years, and has not topped the 130-game mark since the 2019 season when he appeared in 134 games and won his third MVP Award. 

Since then it has been a steady stream of issues that have not only taken him out of the lineup, but also greatly reduced his impact on the field.

His .797 OPS during the 2025 season was his lowest full-season mark in his career, while he also managed just 1.2 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). But the 2026 season has seen a bit of a resurgence in his production, and as of Thursday he has an .866 OPS and has already hit 17 home runs. His 2.7 WAR has already equaled what he produced over the previous two seasons combined. 

When Trout was at his peak he was the best player in baseball and one of the best players of this generation, blending power, speed and great defense into one complete package of a player. 

His brilliance only highlights the incompetence of Angels management and ownership to have never successfully built a consistent contender around him. 

His bounce-back year has not helped the Angels, who are 30-45 and again near the bottom of the American League standings.