SAN DIEGO — The Angels were dealt a major blow on Tuesday when superstar center fielder Mike Trout was placed on the 15-day injured list with a fractured left thigh.
Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, sustained the wrist injury on Monday when he fouled a ball back in the eighth inning at Petco Park while facing Padres right-hander Nick Martinez. Trout is expected to be out for around four to eight weeks, meaning he will be out at least until early August and possibly well into September.
Trout said he’s sought advice from several players who’ve suffered a hernia and heard it can take up to four weeks to get back, but he acknowledged it often takes longer. He’s still getting a second opinion to decide if he needs surgery, but it’s considered likely.
“I kind of knew it wasn’t good,” Trout said. “It’s just a freak thing. I have contacted many people who had had surgery or been injured before. Some guys came back in four weeks. For some guys it took longer. We’ll see how it goes.”
Outfielder Jo Adell and right-hander Gerardo Reyes were recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. Right-hander Victor Mederos was selected for Double-A Rocket City. The Angels now have an outfield combination of Taylor Ward, Hunter Renfroe, Mickey Moniak and Adell.
“I think everyone knows there’s going to be bumps along the way and we’ve taken down quite a few players,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “We’ve had the same motto since the start of the season, things like that happen and it’s the next man’s turn and we keep playing. Nobody will feel sorry for us. There is no reason for us to do the same.”
Trout, who was selected as an All-Star for his 11th year and a starter for the 10th consecutive year, came hot to the plate. The injury means Trout, who was selected as a starter, will miss his third straight All-Star game.
“It’s tough,” Trout said. “I was really looking forward to it. It’s frustrating.”
The 31-year-old has a .333/.438/.648 slash line in his last 15 games, with four home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs. Trout has cut .263/.369/.493 with 18 homers, 14 doubles and 44 RBIs in 81 games this season. His .862 OPS is a step backwards from his out-of-this-world career OPS of .994, but in mid-June he was working on fixing his mechanics and looking more like himself.
Trout said he was told by the training staff that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the injury – it was just an unfortunate injury sustained when the racquet hit.
“Looking back, I didn’t have any pain or anything like that,” Trout said. “I just felt something really painful and weird. When I talk to other people, it’s basically the same thing that happened to them. It’s frustrating because my body felt great. I had a routine and I stuck to it, and then something unusual happened. But at least it’s not terribly serious or the end of the season.”
Adell, 24, will now get his chance as a regular in the outfield. The former frontrunner hit .271/.376/.580 with 23 homers at the top of the minor league in 72 games with Triple-A Salt Lake. Adell is expected to have time in both midfield and right field if Trout is out. Moniak will continue to start against right-handers; He started in the center on Tuesday with Adell on the bench.
“I’m happy to be here but the circumstances aren’t great because you don’t want Mike to go down and miss so much time,” said Adell. “But I’ll come in and hopefully do my job and keep this thing going. We have a really good thing coming up here and I want to be a part of it.”