OC Register: Angels optimistic about Mike Trout returning soon

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — Mike Trout’s recovery from a broken hamate bone in July is happening so fast now that the Angels star might not even need a rehab assignment in order to return.

Trout has not played since July 3 in San Diego, and underwent surgery to repair the small bone on the inside of his left hand near his wrist. Trout’s surgical incision is on the pad of his hand opposite his thumb.

“As soon as he feels good enough to swing and hit a ball, which I think is imminent, (a return) will be pretty quick after that,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “Once he can just get a feel for swinging a bat, it’s a pain tolerance thing. This is about the time, or the earliest that recovery starts to happen, and he’s right on top of that.”

Trout was set to take swings for the first time in an inside batting cage before Thursday’s game against the Seattle Mariners. The three-time American League MVP is set to hit off a tee first, then hit soft flip tosses before progressing to pitching.

“It’s one thing to take a dry swing, it’s another to hit one off the end (of the bat) where it’s kind of rattling through your hands and the vibration gets you,” Nevin said. “I think it’s going to happen pretty soon. He feels confident that it will.”

The Angels could use the offense. They scored 14 total runs over six games against the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves to close out their recent nine-game road trip. They managed to win two of those six games even while averaging 2.3 runs per game in the stretch.

The Angels appear to be exploring the possibility of bringing back Trout without a minor-league rehab assignment, even though he has not played for a full month already.

“It’s something we’ll talk about,” Nevin said. “There are ways that we’ve done this before where he’s missed this amount of time and come back without having to go play a game. We can get his at-bats somehow.”

Trout is batting .263 with an .862 OPS in 81 games this season and has 18 home runs with 44 RBIs. Trout’s OPS, which is the sixth-best in the American League, is the lowest it has been since his 40-game rookie season in 2011 when it was .672.

The Angels are 11-11 since Trout has been out, getting eight home runs, 13 RBIs and a 1.209 OPS from Shohei Ohtani in that time, through the road trip.

ON HIS WAY

Angels utility man Brandon Drury is in the final recovery stages from a left shoulder contusion and could be back before the end of the weekend.

Drury has played three games on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Salt Lake, including Thursday, and could be one more game away from a return.

“(He) played second base the first day and actually dove for a ball, which I told him not to but it’s a natural instinct on the infield,” Nevin said. “But he felt fine with that. He took four at-bats each night. I saw each at-bat and there is a little bit of hesitation in there to where we’re going to keep him there.”

Drury is batting .277 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs in 75 games of his first season with the Angels.

The Angels currently have 18 players on the injured list, the most in the major leagues.

MAKING AN IMPACT

Rookie shortstop Zach Neto was named the Angels’ winner of the annual Heart & Hustle Award, which goes to the player who “best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.”

The award is voted on by former players, with a winner on each team.

“Any time you’re recognized by your peers, and especially being a rookie like he is, it’s just an example (of how) he plays the game and the impact he’s had on the team,” Nevin said. “… To have that big of an impact on the league, and especially on our team, in a short amount of time is very impressive.”

The slick-fielding Neto, who was the No. 13 overall selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, is batting .244 this season with eight home runs and 30 RBIs in 66 games.

UP NEXT

Mariners (RHP Luis Castillo, 7-7, 2.88 ERA) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 2-8, 4.35 ERA), Friday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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[UndertheHalo]

Very nice, thank you. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

They are always optimistic 

[jsnpritchett]

7 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

They are always optimistic 

Angels fan self-help article:

[Angel Oracle]

By the time he returns, they will be back under .500, an F’ing too familiar refrain since 2016.

September may be an easier schedule, but who cares when they will likely be some 7-8 games out of the 3rd WC spot.

[ScottT]

2 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

They are always optimistic 

Better than always being pessimistic. Like many here.

I do prefer a balanced approach, though.

[ten ocho recon scout]

15 hours ago, ScottT said:

Better than always being pessimistic. Like many here.

I do prefer a balanced approach, though.

Balanced approach is Trout coming back soon from his injury, and then like Ohtani having the same injury.

It would be the most Angel thing we could Angel.

[Angelsjunky]

21 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Balanced approach is Trout coming back soon from his injury, and then like Ohtani having the same injury.

It would be the most Angel thing we could Angel.

Two-month ban, Scout.

[gurn67]

Unless the surgery fixed his ability to be able to catch up to a 97+ MPH fastball, or ANY fastball in the upper third of the strike zone, I don't think it's going to matter much.

[Duren, Duren]

Trout's relatively disappointing season will be a big story when he returns. It's been on the back burner with all the trade, Ohtani and game news 

Can he turn it around? Is his difficulty with certain pitches permanent? Will he be a big factor leading a late season surge? Even if the playoffs are out of reach. And what to expect from him next year? 

Are he and Rendon cursed to both have long lasting injuries every year? 

How he finishes this year can be another clue about what to expect next season, though he may still be rusty at first coming back. 

Next season he will be expected to return to his pre-Ohtani role as the dominant star of the team. But are his MVP level days permanently behind him due to age and some skill erosion?

Many HOF players have rebounded from a disappointing season in their thirties, but rarely to their peak performance standards. Yet Trout is still young enough to be elite for a few more years. Even if not MVP dominant. 

Between he and Ohtani the Angels have had one of the top two or so MVP candidates on the team for around a decade each year. Next year may break that streak. 

 

[SoCalDucksFan]

So long as he stays healthy, Mr. Trout is definitely a player you want to have on your team.  As he gets older, his #'s are naturally going to decline.  That shouldn't come as any surprise, nor should it mean that he's not still a great player.  Definitely a guy who can help carry a team for periods of time.  But THE man to carry a team for a 5 month season, not anymore.  And when I say "carry" a team, I don't mean lead them to 1st place.  He's 1 player, and a team is only as good as their weakest links.  In his prime, he was capable of making a bad Angels team, look mediocre.  Even now, with a superstar like Ohtani, the Angels are a bad team, that looks mediocre, and plays .500 baseball.

Next year, when they'll likely have to count on Mike, as his skills continue to erode, they're really going to be in deep doo doo.

[Jeff Fletcher]

2 hours ago, Duren, Duren said:

Trout's relatively disappointing season will be a big story when he returns. It's been on the back burner with all the trade, Ohtani and game news 

He was just heating up before he got hurt. He had an OPS over 1.000 in the two weeks before he got hurt.