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The Los Angeles Angels are scrapping and clawing to stay in the playoff picture as they hover just below .500. Of course, the goal when Mike Trout went down with a knee injury was to just hang around in the AL West race. Since then, the Angels have been treading water until their star player gets back.
On Wednesday, they got a positive update as to when that return might be coming. Trout provided optimism while updating everyone about where he is in his recovery, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
“Mike Trout ran on the field again today and said this time it was at about 80 percent intensity. Said he felt great,” Bollinger reported on X, formerly Twitter.
While Trout isn't head and shoulders above the rest of the league as the best player in baseball anymore like he used to be, he is still one of the top outfielders in the business and will be a welcome addition to the Los Angeles lineup whenever he makes it back.
Trout has played in 29 games this season and has struggled mightily at the plate, so he will be hoping that the time off helps him reset a little bit and allows him to find more of a rhythm when he gets back. He is hitting just .179 with an on-base percentage of .264, so he is struggling with his consistency at the dish.
However, the 11-time All-Star is still hitting for power on the regular despite his overall struggles. He has nine home runs this season in just 106 at-bats to go along with 18 RBIs, so he is still a force in the middle of the Angels lineup.
Trout is still finding his footing in the field after moving from center field over to right field this offseason, a move that was made with his health in mind.
Interestingly, the Angels have a 10-8 record without Trout in the lineup this season and are just 12-17 with him playing. As a whole, they are 22-25 and are 5.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West. If Trout can get back to his best when he returns, Los Angeles will have plenty of chances to close that gap in the coming months.
