The Los Angeles Angels are 10 games under .500 with 14 games remaining in the Major League Baseball season.
Los Angeles has lost two straight and six of their last 10. They sit 11 games back in the American League West and in the AL Wild Card.
There isn’t much to play for except pride at this point, but the Angels’ superstar outfielder has a chance to hit his 400th career home run this season.
Mike Trout is sitting at 399 home runs and just hit his 21st of the season on Thursday. While this milestone is impressive, Trout has been having one of his worst full seasons.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez wrote about Trout’s woes this season in ESPN’s latest power rankings on Thursday, where the Angels ranked 25th in MLB.
“Mike Trout has been sitting at 398 career home runs since Aug. 8, while in the midst of a 28-game homerless drought that has now surpassed his previous career high (27 in 2015),” wrote Gonzalez. “During that stretch, he is slashing just .213/.380/.255. The 34-year-old will finish the season having played in more games than he has in six years, but he's also on pace for his lowest OPS (currently .789) since his 40-game major league debut in 2011. Trout has been relegated to designated hitter since sitting out most of May because of discomfort in his twice surgically repaired left knee.”
Trout, who turned 34 last month, is a three-time Most Valuable Player and 11-time All-Star. He is one of the best players in MLB history, let alone Angels franchise history.
Things started to go south for Trout in 2021, when he only played 36 games. Out of 796 games since the 2021 season, Trout has only played in 383 games.
In July 2022, Trout was dealing with a back injury. He was diagnosed with costovertebral dysfunction, a rare and chronic condition that affects the joints between the ribs and vertebrae. The condition has caused him to transition into a full-time designated hitter.
His condition will require constant monitoring and is responsible for a lot of the time he has missed. Trout has also dealt with a calf strain, a hamate fracture in his hand, and a left knee meniscus tear since 2021.
It’s a shame one of this generation’s greatest players has become injury prone. Unfortunately, Trout’s best baseball is probably behind him and fans should enjoy the rest of his career while he’s still on the field.