Mike Trout Set to Have Surgery On Torn Meniscus

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is set to have surgery on his torn meniscus after suffering the injury in Monday’s win against the Phillies. He is set to be out for an undetermined amount of time, but at the very least, recovery will take four to six weeks. In his 29 games played so far in 2024, Trout is hitting a .220 batting average with 24 hits, 14 RBIs and a league-leading ten home runs. Trout has been one of baseball’s best players in decades, but his career has recently been highlighted by injuries, playing more than 100 games in only one of the last five seasons.

“It’s just frustrating,” Trout said. “But we’ll get through it.”

Though the injury came in the third inning of the game against Philadelphia, Trout played the the rest of the night despite feeling a soreness in his knee. As the game went on, the pain worsened for Trout, and he eventually consulted with the team’s training staff. When he woke up the next day, Trout said that he “couldn’t get out of bed,” and the team finally took medical images to show that he did tear his left meniscus.

“It was just sore,” Trout said. I was kind of telling myself maybe I just banged it on something and didn’t realize it. Then, after the game, getting treatment, it was really sore.”

After his first eight seasons in the league, Trout finished in the top two of AL MVP voting in seven years, winning the award three times. Over his career, he has hit 1,648 hits and 378 home runs, the third most since entering the league in 2011. He also has a career batting average of .299, which ranks 11th amongst all players since he entered the league. Despite Trout’s statistical numbers, the Angels have struggled to find any postseason success as a team. The team’s sole playoff appearance with Trout came in 2016 when they lost in the ALDS in a sweep to the Kansas City Royals. Since 2011, the Angels have lost more games than they’ve won, only finishing second or higher in the division three times in 14 seasons.

“Nobody wants to play more than Mike does,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said. “He loves this. He loves everything about this. He wakes up thinking about it, and then he goes to bed thinking about it. He eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. I really feel for him.”

Since 2021, Trout has missed more than 250 games, more than half of the Angels’ total games played. Though when healthy, he is one of the best players in the MLB, injuries continue to sideline Trout on an Angels team that desperately needs his help.