Angels' Mike Trout Making Slow Progress Amid Return From Knee Injury

Even Mike Trout himself has been forced to acknowledge his new reality.

Whatever optimism he feels in the wake of a new injury — such as the left knee bone bruise that currently has him on the Angels' 10-day injured list — Trout must at the same time acknowledge that he's a slow healer. That isn't likely to change at age 33.

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Trout did some agility drills on the field on Tuesday at Petco Park before the Angels' game against the San Diego Padres. He is also running on an Alter G treadmill at 50 percent of his body weight.

But Trout is well past the 10-day minimum IL stay. Although he's swinging a bat without pain, the 11-time All-Star told reporters Monday he doesn't have a concrete timeframe for his return.

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“I don’t have a day,” Trout said. “But I feel great.”

Trout 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.

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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 has struggled to score runs.

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.

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Jorge Soler, Gustavo Campero and Jo Adell have filled in for Trout in right field, with Kyren Paris shifting from second base to center field.

None can completely replace Trout, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year, and a nine-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

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In 15 seasons — all with the Angels — Trout has hit .297 with 387 home runs, 972 RBIs and 214 stolen bases. His 55 triples and 86 bWAR are the most among active players.

When the Angels signed Trout to a 12-year, $426.5 million extension in March 2019, it was the largest contract in baseball history. With each day he misses, the contract looks more and more like an albatross.

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