Trout opted for surgery rather than DH
He had torn meniscus fixed May 3, giving him a chance to return healthy sooner.
Mike Trout decided that having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee was a better alternative than postponing the procedure and being a designated hitter the rest of the season.
“It was an option they put out there. It would have been just maintaining the pain level of it,” the Angels slugger said before Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. “The day I got the MRI and it showed that I was in a lot of pain. It would have been a tough road for the rest of the year to bear that.”
Trout has also struggled whenever he has been a designated hitter. In 1,518 career games, he has been the DH only 81 times and has a .214 batting average.
Trout — who is sidelined by a major injury for the fourth straight season — still doesn’t know when the latest one occurred. The knee soreness worsened during an April 29 game against the Philadelphia Phillies, and an MRI the next day revealed the tear. He underwent surgery on May 3, when the Angels began a six-game trip.
“It wasn’t one particular play that did it. I felt a little ache and woke up the next day and couldn’t walk,” he said.
Baseball players who have had a similar injury and operation have an average recovery time of four to eight weeks, but Trout hasn’t had one set, as of yet. He said the only things he has been able to do post surgery is stretching and trying to strengthen the quadriceps muscle and the area around it.
The three-time American League most valuable player led the majors with 10 homers at the time of the injury. He was hitting .220 with 14 RBIs and six steals.
“It’s tough because I felt real good [to begin the season], but things just happen. I’m doing everything I can to get back on the field,” Trout said. “I want to go as fast as I can, but I don’t want to push it.”
The Angels were 14-24 after splitting their six-game trip and losing to the Royals on Thursday.
Manager Ron Washington was glad to see Trout still in an upbeat mood but was more pleased to see him in the hitter’s meeting before the Angels took batting practice.
“No one is asking Mike to be in those meetings. Mike is at the ballpark because Mike wants to be around his teammates,” Washington said. “Any tidbits that he can give to them while he’s here, we welcome.”
Angels’ worst home start continues with 10-4 loss
Dairon Blanco had three hits, including a two-run homer in the third inning, Michael Wacha picked up his first win in over a month and the visiting Kansas City Royals rolled to a 10-4 victory over the Angels on Thursday night.
Angels starter Reid Detmers (3-4) retired the first six Royals before running into trouble in the third. Vinnie Pasquantino had a two-run homer in the third and drove in three runs for the Royals, who won for the third time in four games. Pasquantino had nine RBIs in his last five games entering Friday. Maikel Garcia added three hits, including a two-run double in the sixth. The Angels had five hits and dropped to 4-12 at Angel Stadium, the worst home start in franchise history.
Wacha (2-4) yielded two hits in six innings before running into trouble in the seventh. The Angels loaded the bases as their first three hitters got aboard when Luis Guillorme and Cole Tucker drew basesloaded walks to chase the righthander. The Angels had runners at first and second with one out, but reliever Daniel Lynch IV started a double play to end the inning.