Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout suffered a hamate fracture in his left hand during Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres (SD 10, LA 3). announced the angels. Trout sustained the injury when he fouled back a 1-0 pitch from Nick Martinez in the seventh inning. Fractures of the hamate usually require surgery and require a recovery time of 3 to 7 weeks.
Trout was subsequently replaced in the lineup by former No. 1 pick Mickey Moniak. Moniak then struck to end the punch. Here is the injury:
The 31-year-old Trout started Monday and hit .260/.365/.493 (134 OPS+) in his first 80 games with 18 home runs, 43 RBI and two stolen bases. Those grades may be below Trout’s supernatural standards, but his contributions were still worth an estimated 2.9 wins over substitutes, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations.
The Angels come into play Tuesday 45-42 and are third in the AL West. The Angels were six games behind division leaders Texas Rangers and also three games behind in the race for the final AL wildcard spot. Needless to say, losing Trout for an extended period is a devastating blow to the team’s postseason hopes. According to Sportsline, they currently only have a 12.5% chance of making the playoffs.
Aside from Trout, the Angels are missing several other key contributors. Starting catcher Logan O’Hoppe, shortstop Zach Neto and infielders Gio Urshela and Brandon Drury are each on the injured list. Pitchers José Suarez, Ben Joyce and Matt Moore are also still unavailable.
Trout’s injury came a day after he was selected to his eleventh career All-Star game. The Angels brought in former frontrunner Jo Adell to replace Trout.