CLEVELAND — Believe it or not, Mike Trout actually came back early.
Although four weeks on the injured list might have been more than some expected when Trout first suffered a bone bruise in his left knee on April 30, the Angels’ plan for him in recent weeks was focused on a return on Monday in Boston, according to Manager Ron Washington.
Washington said this weekend in Cleveland they planned for Trout to run the bases more aggressively and do some drills in the outfield.
Trout said he felt what he did in his workout on Wednesday at Angel Stadium was sufficient for him to get back in the lineup as the designated hitter this weekend. He is not expected to play the outfield until the next series, at the earliest.
“I think I came out of it the other day good,” Trout said. “Wasn’t too sore or anything. I’m gonna go out there and have some good at-bats. Just itching to get out there. … I was getting antsy. I knew I was close.”
Washington said he doesn’t want Trout to steal any bases right now. Trout said he plans to be “cautious” on the bases.
“Bone bruises are tricky,” Trout said. “I know I’m gonna be sore, but I can deal with it.”
The Angels’ 33-year-old, three-time American League MVP has missed more than half of their games over the previous four years. With his calf injury in 2021, his broken hand in 2023 and his torn meniscus in 2024, he missed more time than initially projected.
This time, the Angels publicly committed to any sort of timeline for Trout. Trout said he thought it was “possible” that he’d be back in the minimum 10 days, but it quickly became apparent that wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t start running on the field until 19 days after the injury, and he didn’t run the bases until the 27th day.
Trout ended up missing 26 games on the injured list, before going back into the lineup on Friday.
The other surprise with his return to the lineup is that Washington put him in the No. 5 spot. Trout had not started a game lower than third since his rookie season in 2011.
“He’s not ready to be in the top of the lineup, especially when those guys up there have collected at-bats,” Washington said.
Trout has been taking batting practice for a couple of weeks. He only saw live pitching once, when an Angels minor leaguer threw him about 30 pitches on Wednesday.
“The swing has been feeling good,” said Trout, who was hitting .179 with nine home runs, 18 RBIs and a .727 OPS before being placed on the injured list.
Washington said he’s not sure what to expect from Trout at the plate initially.
“We’re going to find out,” Washington said. “You’ve got to understand, Mike hasn’t seen any pitching. He may come out and be Mike Trout and be Mike Trout for the rest of the year, but don’t you all be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. I’m expecting it to happen. He’s expecting it to happen, but we don’t know what’s going to happen until we play. But it’s a good thing to have him in our lineup.”
Washington said the decision on how much to play Trout in the outfield will evolve.
“We’re gonna go with how Mike feels each day,” Washington said. “And then the plan will work itself out from there.”
Having Trout in the DH spot creates some other issues for the lineup.
Jorge Soler was in right field on Friday. Washington said last week that he didn’t want to put Soler in the outfield more than a couple of times a week, but he acknowledged on Friday that he may have to do that to keep Soler’s bat in the lineup.
Jo Adell was in center field on Friday, which might happen more often. Adell is best in right field. For now, though, the Angels figure to have either Soler or Trout in right field.
For all of Adell’s offensive struggles, he’s still a more dangerous hitter than the other center field options: Chris Taylor and Scott Kingery. Adell started the season in center field, eventually moving to right in order to give the Angels better defense.
“He had a couple of bad games out there, and all of a sudden he couldn’t play center field,” Washington said. “And when he had five, six, seven, eight good games, nobody said he could play center field. He’s in center field tonight, and we’ll see where it goes. And I’m a Jo Adell fan, so I think he can play it. Sometimes he loses his focus a little bit, and tonight, we’re going to stay on top of him with his focus. We’ve got to help him focus because we need him to play center field.”
Essentially, the Angels (25-30) are willing to make whatever accommodations they need to make to get Trout in the lineup. They brought a five-game losing streak to Cleveland because the offense has been in a slump.
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe said it’s a boost to get Trout back.
“The season is so long and there’s so many games that any sense of newness or something to make you excited is something that you latch on to,” O’Hoppe said. “So today’s definitely a moment like that. … He’s the heart of this organization, not even (just) the lineup or the room. Happy to have our heart beating again, for sure.”
NOTES
Third baseman Yoán Moncada (right knee soreness) was not in the lineup. Moncada did some running on the field on Friday afternoon, and said he still felt awkward when decelerating. Moncada and Washington both said a return to the lineup on Saturday is possible. …
Kingery, who started at second base on Friday, was in line to get his first major league plate appearance since 2021. Kingery didn’t get to hit in the one game he played with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022. …
Former top prospect Oscar Colas passed his physical to complete his minor league deal with the Angels. He will work out in Arizona and then report to Double-A. The Cuban outfielder signed with the Chicago White Sox for $2.7 million. He was released this season, after hitting .223 in 301 major league plate appearances.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Kyle Hendricks, 2-6, 5.23 ERA) at Guardians (RHP Slade Cecconi, 1-1, 3.27 ERA), Saturday, 1:10 p.m. PT, FDSN West, 830 AM