Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout suffered another meniscus tear in his surgically repaired left knee and will not play the remainder of this season, yet another crushing development for the generational superstar who has been significantly hampered by injuries in recent years.
In a post to social media Thursday, Trout wrote that an MRI a day earlier "showed a tear in my meniscus that will require surgery again -- ending my hopes of returning this season."
— Mike Trout (@MikeTrout) August 1, 2024
"Playing and competing is a huge part of my life," Trout added. "This is equally as heartbreaking and frustrating for me as it is for you, the fans. I understand that I may have disappointed many, but believe me, I will do everything I can to come back even stronger."
Trout, who turns 33 on Wednesday, suffered his first meniscus tear on April 29 and had surgery four days later. His initial hope, sources said, was to return within four to six weeks, which doctors told him was a best-case scenario. It instead took a little more than 11 weeks for Trout to begin a rehab assignment.
Once he did, on July 23, he exited after one plate appearance and two innings in center field because of discomfort in his left knee. The discomfort continued the following day, prompting him to leave his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees and fly to Southern California for reevaluation. Trout spoke to reporters last Friday and said an MRI came back clean, adding that he was merely dealing with soft-tissue buildup and inflammation. He added that he could restart baseball activities "any day now."
"It's a huge relief for me," Trout said then.
But Trout continued to feel discomfort in the days after that MRI. When he received another scan Wednesday, a new tear was found in a different spot of the knee. The Angels expect him to be fully ready for the start of spring training next year. By that point, he will have six years and $212.7 million remaining on his contract.
"I believe it's going to turn," Angels general manager Perry Minasian told ESPN. "He's going to play. My call is he hits 70 homers and wins the MVP. I believe it. Looking at the look on his face, he might have the best year he's ever had next year."
Trout finished within the top two in American League MVP voting seven times in his first eight full seasons in the major leagues, establishing himself as the best player of the 2010s. His 73 FanGraphs wins above replacement from 2012 to 2020 -- during which he won three MVPs, claimed eight Silver Slugger Awards and made eight trips to the All-Star Game -- blew away everybody else, with Max Scherzer the next closest at 50.4 fWAR.
Since then, though, Trout has struggled mightily to stay on the field. When this season ends, he will have played in about 41% of the Angels' games from 2021 to 2024. A calf injury kept him off the field from the middle of May until the end of the season in 2021. A back issue put him on the injured list for a little more than a month in 2022. A hand injury in 2023 put him on the shelf from July 3 to Aug. 22, then again from Aug. 23 until season's end. Now a knee injury will keep him out of this season's final five months.
"I will continue to help my team and teammates from the dugout as we press forward into the second half of the season," Trout wrote in his statement. "Thank you for your support."