Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout has suffered another injury. On Tuesday, Trout and the Angels announced he has a torn meniscus in his left knee, and he will undergo surgery as soon as possible. The surgery is not expected to be season-ending. Torn meniscus surgery typically comes with a 2-3 month recovery, though a specific return timetable is not yet known.
“It’s just frustrating. It’s crazy. I don’t even know when I did it,” Trout said Tuesday. “Third inning (on Monday), after the inning was over, I was running in to the dugout, I felt like a little bit of ache in my knee. Not like a serious ache, like, ‘That was weird.’ Didn’t think anything of it. Was hitting, running, didn’t feel nothing. Scoring from second, nothing. It was just after, when I did activity and I sat down and got back up, that’s when I started feeling it.”
Trout, 32, is hitting .220/.325/.541 with an MLB-leading 10 home runs in 29 games this season. He played all nine innings of Monday’s game in center field, so Tuesday’s announcement came as a surprise. A variety of injuries limited Trout to 237 of 486 possible games from 2021-23, or 49%. Now he’ll miss a big chunk of 2024 as well.
Here are the notable injuries Trout has suffered throughout his Hall of Fame career.
2017: Torn thumb ligament
Days missed: 47
Trout’s first injury was a fluke injury. On May 28, 2017, Trout tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb sliding into second base on a stolen base. He hit the bag hard, bent his thumb the wrong way, and the ligament gave out. Trout had surgery, rejoined the Angels on July 14, and hit a Trout-like .285/.429/.552 with 17 home runs in 67 games the rest of the way. This was Trout’s first trip to the injured list as a professional.
2021: Calf strain
Days missed: 139
Sometimes the worst injuries are the injuries that don’t look all that bad at the time. On May 17, 2021, Trout was on second base, and he felt a grab in his right calf when he began to run out a pop up with two outs. He was originally expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a strain, though setbacks kept delaying his return. Finally, with the Angels out of the race, Trout pulled the plug in September and shut it down for the season. He played only 36 games in 2021 and none after May 17.
2022: Back inflammation
Days missed: 35
Officially, Trout was diagnosed with “costovertebral dysfunction,” which is a fancy name for a sore back. His back began to act up in early July, and he landed on the injured list on July 15. At the time of the injury, Trout was hitting .270/.368/.599 in 79 games. After returning on Aug. 10, he hit .308/.370/.686 the rest of the way. After a little rest and rehab, Trout was good as new.
2023: Broken hamate
Days missed: 89
Those 89 days span two stints on the injured list. Trout broke the hamate in his left hand taking a swing on July 3, 2023, and underwent surgery soon thereafter. Hamate surgery typically comes with a 6-8 week recovery, but with the Angels trying to make a run at the postseason in the second half, Trout returned on Aug. 22. He played one game, went 1 for 4, then shut it down for the season. He wasn’t fully recovered and needed more time. For all intents and purposes, Trout’s 2023 season ended on July 3.
2024: Torn meniscus
Days missed: TBD
As Trout explained Tuesday, this injury did not happen on a specific play Monday night. He felt soreness in his left knee in the third inning, but had no issues hitting and running. It wasn’t until later Monday night that the soreness intensified. Trout went for tests Tuesday that confirmed the meniscus tear. He will have surgery and is expected to return later this year.
