ANAHEIM — Mike Trout’s appointment with a doctor on Monday told him and the Angels what they already knew.
He’s not getting better very quickly.
Beyond that, though, there was no new injury or no aggravation to his strained calf. That’s the glass-half-full news.
Otherwise, it’s still a frustrating waiting game.
“The doc answered questions for him regarding the different things he’s feeling, and he said it’s all natural and normal,” Manager Joe Maddon said. “We just have to keep plowing through like we have. So there’s still no finish line.”
Trout is now 10 weeks removed from an injury that was initially expected to keep him out six to eight weeks. The three-time American League MVP seemed to be on the verge of a rehab assignment, which would have been the final step of the process, when he ran the bases on Tuesday and Thursday.
Since then, though, his workouts have been more limited, which coincides with Trout still feeling some discomfort.
“I talk to Mike a lot and I can tell just by talking to him that it’s not to the point where he feels really good about pushing it any further,” Maddon said.
While there is no timeline for Trout’s return, Maddon wouldn’t characterize it as a setback.
“We’re going to get him back,” Maddon said. “I just don’t know exactly when yet. Everything is moving in the right direction. It’s just slow.”
RENDON TOO
Third baseman Anthony Rendon’s rehab from a strained hamstring is also in a holding pattern.
Although Maddon said just after the All-Star break that he expected Rendon to return around the end of the month, he conceded on Monday that he won’t make that goal.
“That ain’t happening,” Maddon said. “That’s what we all thought at that point. And it’s just not progressing at the speed with which we thought.”
Maddon said that Rendon will need a rehab assignment before he can return.
PLAN FOR BARRIA
The Angels haven’t yet decided when Jaime Barria will make his next start, but Maddon indicated that the right-hander has definitely earned another start after he held the Twins to two runs in seven innings on Sunday in Minnesota.
The mere fact that Barria wasn’t optioned after the game was an indication that he will start again.
“He’s still here,” Maddon said. “A lot of times he wouldn’t be, so that’s a good thing. He threw in a way that I had not seen him throw before. I know a lot of people have seen him good. I’m talking about velocity, location, overall command. He’s always had good mound presence, but he really got after it the other day.”
The Angels can’t pick a game for Barria to start until they know more about Alex Cobb, who came out of his last start with a blister. They need to know when Cobb will be OK to pitch before inserting Barria into the rotation.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP José Suarez, 4-3, 2.85 ERA) vs. Rockies (LHP Austin Gomber, 7-5, 3.74), Tuesday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
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