Last week, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. The announcement from general manager Perry Minsian came as a shock, as Trout had played the team’s previous game in its entirety without any rumblings of an injury. It left Trout out indefinitely, with a rumored timetable of about 8-12 weeks for a return.
As far as knee injuries go, a torn meniscus is among the better options. It’s unlikely to leave any lasting effects on Trout’s playing ability and has one of the quickest recovery times. Any other torn ligament and Trout undoubtedly would have missed the entire season. The meniscus injury affords Trout the possibility of a return in 2024.
But team doctors gave Trout the option to not miss any time. They told him that he could play through the injury and deal with pain management throughout the season, and Trout discussed why he ultimately did not take that path this season, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It was an option they put out there,” Trout said. “It would have been just maintaining the pain level of it. The day I got the MRI and it showed that, I was in a lot of pain, so it would have been a tough road for the rest of the year to bear that. I felt the best option for me was to get it right and be fully healthy to come back soon.”
Trout, 32, is obviously going to miss yet another significant chunk of a season with this injury. However, his spirits are as high as they’ve been in recent years in the days following the surgery.
“I’m feeling good,” Trout said before the Angels’ 10-4 loss to the Royals. “Surgery went well. Just taking it day by day and feeling better every day, so it’s been good. No timeline. Just come in, rehab and hopefully it feels better every single day, see how it feels the next day and go from there.”
The Angels are not going to rush Trout back, especially considering the team does not look like it’s going to be contending for a postseason spot. However, getting him back for a month or two at the end of the year would be a nice change of pace compared to how his seasons have ended early each of the last three years.
It could help him to go into the offseason completely healthy and having games under his belt as the Angels look ahead to 2025.
Angels acquire Luis Guillorme
The Angels announced they acquired infielder Luis Guillorme in a trade with the Atlanta Braves in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. To make room for Guillorme on the 40-man roster, the Angels moved Anthony Rendon to the 60-day injured list.
Guillorme, 29, was in his first season with the Braves after spending the first six years of his Major League career with the New York Mets. As a bench utility infielder for the Braves, Guillorme managed only 21 plate appearances in the team’s first six weeks. He posted a .440 OPS in that span, but joins the Angels likely assuming a larger role.
