MLB Notebook: Mike Trout to miss time after knee surgery, Aaron Boone confident in Judge despite early struggles, and more

Mike Trout to miss time after knee surgery

New season, same story as Mike Trout will miss a significant amount of time as he will undergo knee surgery to fix a torn meniscus. An emotional Trout met with the media on Tuesday as he detailed his injury and what will come next for the star. 

“It’s crazy because I look back, I’m like, I don’t even know when I did it.”

Trout said he noticed an “ache” in his left knee running back to the dugout in the third inning against the Phillies on Monday, but he didn’t think anything of it. 

“[I] was hitting, running, didn’t feel nothing. Scoring from second, nothing. It was just after when I did activity, and I sat down, and I got back up, that’s when I’d start feeling it.”

After feeling it out throughout the game, Trout mentioned his discomfort to team trainers in the late innings of the game. After being told to see how he felt the next day, he told the team he needed it checked out, where he found out he had torn his meniscus. 

Meniscus injuries tend to keep players out between 2-3 months, depending on the severity of the tear. Since 2020, there have been 12 meniscus injuries across the MLB, all but one required surgery. The only player who did not go under the knife was Angels pitcher, Andrew Velazquez in 2022. Velazquez now pitches for the Tigers Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. 

Injuries have been the story of Mike Trout’s career over the last seven years. Trout has missed 281 days over the last seven seasons and has only played in 49% of his games between 2021-2023. 

A wrist injury, a back injury, a broken bone in his hand, and a calf strain have sidelined him at certain points since 2018, and he hasn’t played over 120 games in a season since 2019; which happens to be the last time he won AL MVP. 

This knee injury has caused concern, not only for the Angels’ star but his legacy as well. With each news story you see about Mike Trout’s injury, questions surrounding his health and name are always associated with injury. “What-if” articles and pieces questioning his future litter the headlines. But what does come next for the Angels and the face of their organization?

Rumours swirled around Trout after Ohtani signed just down the I-5 into Chavez Ravine and whether or not he would request a trade from Orange County. Trout quickly dispelled those whispers at the start of Spring Training.

“I think that the easy way out is just to ask for a trade.”

But now, some believe this injury is the horse that broke the camel’s back with yet another injury before his 33rd birthday. As Ken Rosenthal points out, even if Trout wanted a trade, it would probably seem unlikely as Angels Owner Arte Moreno has a history of holding onto his stars.

Most recently for Moreno and the Halos, he refused to trade Shohei Ohtani at the deadline last year, despite the risk of losing him for nothing in the winter (which is exactly what happened), and not collecting a haul that would kick start their rebuild. 

Trout pushed for more offseason acquisitions this year to which Arte obliged with the massive acquisitions of… *checks notes*… Aaron Hicks, Adam Cimber, and longtime Angel Matt Moore. The Angels did add Miguel Sanó, but he currently sits on the IL with knee discomfort after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in 2022. Moreno also added Zach Plesac and Adam Kolarek, who both presently play for Triple-A affiliate Salt Lake, and José Cisnero, who also sits on the IL with shoulder inflammation. And we don’t even need to mention Anthony Rendon.

The Angels currently sit last in the AL West, tied with the Houston Astros for the basement spot. Trout has been the star (obviously) on the Halos this year smacking a league-leading 10 homers and bringing in 14 runs on 24 hits this season. Of his 14 RBIs, 12 of them come off the long ball as eight of his 10 long balls are solo shots. 

So, what comes next for Mr. Angel? Good question. The best possible scenario is a quick recovery to try and help the Angels salvage a Wild Card spot. But, that’s off the fruitful wishes of hoping the current rag-tag Angels can hold the ship together until then… which we all know is far from likely. The Angels have really given us all next to zero hope, but, for the 10th year in a row… There’s always next year. 

Aaron Boone confident in Judge despite early struggles

The start of the 2024 season has not been friendly to Aaron Judge. While the Yankees currently sit second in the AL East, Judge has had a measly time at the plate. Swinging a meagre .197 batting average, a .331 OBP, and a .724 OPS, Judge has been far from his usual self. 

The thing is, the Yankees are doing fine without his production, sitting second in the league in team home runs, tied for the third-best win percentage in all of baseball, and the first team to 20 wins, the Yanks are doing just fine, making Judge’s absent bat even more strange. 

Juan Soto, Anthony Volpe, and quietly enough, Oswaldo Cabrera have been some of the top bats in the pinstripes lineup. Plus, supporting production from players like Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo has brought the Yankees lineup to the next level. 

Despite Judge’s early struggles, Manager Aaron Boone has no worries about his star slugger. 

“He’ll get it going, and look out when he does.”

Aaron Judge was once again slotted into the third spot in the Bronx Bombers lineup against the Detroit Tigers despite cries for a change in the lineup for Judge. 

“He’s gained some traction. He’s stacked some good days in a row.”

But it’s not like it hasn’t crossed Boone’s mind. When asked if he could make a change in the lineup, Boone responded with “We’ll see.”

The potential change for Judge would not be too drastic, flipping up a spot from third to second in the order, in favour of the Yanks’ best hitter this year, Juan Soto. Soto is raking this year, slashing a .331 average with eight homers and 25 RBIs. The move would protect Judge a little with the fear of facing Soto next, forcing more stuff in the zone and not risking putting a guy on for La Fiera.

Right now, Judge stays confident, looking to flip the page of the first month of the season. 

“It’s May. It’s a new month. Time to get going.”

The question is how much of this is his injured toe responsible for? Before the start of the season, Judge confirmed the injury to his toe last season at Dodger Stadium changed the way he swung the bat and finished his swing.

“Especially coming back after a toe injury when your mechanics are a little messed up and you’re just working on some things.”

Plus, in Spring Training he was battling an oblique injury, putting his Opening Day in question. He was able to start the season healthy, but how much of that could’ve affected his time at the plate? We aren’t 100% sure. But, for now, the bat is cold. It’s noticeable but has yet to cause the Yankees any form of concern… for now. 

Quick Notes:

• Walker Buehler will return to the bump after missing almost two years recovering from Tommy John surgery. Buehler is expected to start for the Dodgers on Monday. Buehler’s last start was June 10th, 2022, when he would have to leave the game after 4.0 innings and would require his second Tommy John surgery of his career.
• Four players were suspended after a brawl in Milwaukee. After Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe threw punches at Rays OF Jose Siri, four players, including Siri and Uribe, were disciplined for their part in the melee. Uribe received the longest ban with six games, Siri got three games, Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta will get five games after throwing at Siri earlier in the game, and Brewers Manager Pat Murphy got two games.