For the first time since July 4, the beleaguered Angels should have Mike Trout in their lineup Tuesday.
Trout, who fractured his left hamate bone fouling off a pitch against the Padres, is expected to retake the field against the Reds after Monday's game was postponed because of Hurricane Hilary, giving the Angels some much-needed reinforcements.
All has not been well for the Angels since Trout's injury. They're 16-20 and have fallen back to 8.5 games back of the Mariners in the AL wild card race, with the Blue Jays and Red Sox still standing ahead of them. This was after a hyper-aggressive trade deadline in which the Angels gave up the farm to acquire Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, and Mike Moustakas to try to make a playoff push and woo back pending free agent Shohei Ohtani.
The window for the Angels to make the postseason is closing, but with Trout on a 12-year, $426.5 million contract, the onus is on him to throw that window back open, fair or not. Every game is a must-win for the Angels from here on out, and Trout is integral to their success.
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Is Mike Trout back?
Trout was finally activated off the IL by the Angels, and he is expected to be back in the Angels lineup.
Originally, it was thought Trout might return Monday, but Hurricane Hilary postponed the Angels' bout with the Reds at Angel Stadium in Orange County, delaying his return by a day.
What was Mike Trout's injury?
Trout suffered a fractured hamate bone in his left hand fouling off a pitch against the Padres on July 4.
Mike Trout exits the game after appearing to injure his hand during his at bat pic.twitter.com/uddgYTAqCX
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 4, 2023
The star had surgery on his hand shortly thereafter.
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Mike Trout stats
Trout was having a down year by his standards before the injury. While it hasn't all been bad and he's had some hot streaks, he has the lowest average and OPS since his debut season in 2011.
Trout is hitting .263/.369/.493 this season. His OPS+ is still a solid 132, helped along by his 18 home runs, but the Angels are hoping they get MVP Trout down the stretch.
| BA | OBP | SLG% | OPS+ | HR | K% | BB% |
| .263 | .369 | .493 | 132 | 18 | 28.8% | 12.6% |
Trout will join an Angels lineup that has sputtered of late. The team is 26th in MLB in OPS over the past seven days, and 22nd in runs. Trout is hoping to be a catalyst to the Angels' home stretch as they try to make up some, any ground in the AL playoff picture, desperate as the situation is.