Perry Minasian & Mike Trout Speak On Knee Surgery For Halo Superstar

In what has become an all-too-familiar situation, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout is expected to miss the next two to three months and will need surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Angels general manager Perry Minasian announced the injury on Tuesday, saying it was a freak accident while walking back to the dugout on Monday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.

It’s hard to imagine how frustrating this must be for a player like Trout. An immovable force in the game of baseball over the last 14 years, Trout established himself as one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. But in the last four seasons, injuries have defined him more than his historically great production on the field. From 2021-23, Trout played in 48.7% of possible Angels games (237 of 486).

Now, even if Trout does return this season as he is expected to, it will be just to play likely meaningless August and September baseball. Minasian vented his frustration on Trout’s behalf, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic:

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

Trout could barely hold back tears when discussing the injury on Tuesday afternoon.

“Yeah,” Trout said, pausing as he tried to gather himself. “It’s just frustrating. But we’ll get through it.”

“It hurts right now,” Trout said. “But I’ve got to look at the positives. And get back, crush the rehab, support my teammates, and go from there.”

Until Trout comes back, the goal for the Angels is simple. They must focus on the development of the young players that have now — with injuries to both Trout and Anthony Rendon — all of a sudden become leaders in the clubhouse. Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel, Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak are now key pieces both on and off the field.

And if Trout is able to return this season, the young players would love for him to come back to games that matter. Minasian, manager Ron Washington and Trout himself would undoubtedly love that as well.

Angels’ Rendon frsutrated by hamstring injury

Rendon also suffered a freak injury in recent weeks, when an infield single led to a tear in his hamstring. He is also out indefinitely, and frustrated by the way the last four seasons have gone for him. He and Trout can now rehab together, as they have done several times since 2021.