Just when it seemed like Mike Trout might finally be able to stay on the field.
It's been a very star-crossed few years for the Los Angeles Angels superstar and future Hall of Famer: Between 2020 and 2024, Trout played in a grand total of 319 games, battling a litany of ailments that had fans wondering whether we'd ever get to see his peak self again. This season had brought some cautious optimism, though, as Trout had appeared in all 28 of the team's games after an offseason shift to right field in an effort to keep him healthy.
... until Wednesday, that is, when Trout was mysteriously pinch-hit for during his team's game against the Seattle Mariners.
It's unclear as of yet just what, if anything, is wrong. The Angels have yet to offer an update on Trout's status or even confirm that he is in fact dealing with an injury. Trout did appear to pull up a bit after running out a grounder to first in his previous at-bat, but he was still feeling good enough to take the field in the bottom half of the inning.
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Mike Trout suffers injury scare Wednesday vs. Mariners
Not long after the Angels' 9-3 loss to Seattle went final, we finally got an update on Trout's status. And while the team tried to spin it as positively as possible, well, we've been down this road before.
According to manager Ron Washington, Trout felt "soreness" in his left knee after running through first base during his final at-bat in the third inning. The fact that Trout felt okay enough to remain in the game immediately afterward would seem to be a good sign, and Washington did claim that taking him out was merely precautionary.
Trout himself is similarly unconcerned. Apparently the knee is already feeling better, and he even wants to try and play in the team's next game on Thursday night.
Still, it's hard not to feel a sense of foreboding here. That left knee is the same one that required not one but two different surgeries for a torn meniscus just last summer; maybe this is just a normal aftereffect of a major procedure, but given Trout's recent track record, why shouldn't Angels fans be nervous?
There's much that we don't know at this point. It's unclear just yet how those tests have come back, if they even have yet, or whether more testing is needed. But while it could certainly have been much worse, we're hardly out of the woods yet.