Mike Trout done for the season with another tear in knee

Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian said on Thursday that Mike Trout got an MRI on Wednesday that showed a tear in his left meniscus that was surgically repaired early in the year. 

“He’s devastated. I was too,” Minasian said. “I’m not the emotional type but being in the room and hearing the news with him was tough.”

Trout’s first tear was on April 29 against the Boston Red Sox and spent months rehabilitating after May 3 surgery.

He started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on July 24, when he left after two innings due to knee discomfort. 

Trout got a clean MRI last week Thursday and should have started running shortly after. He felt pain in his knee again on Monday, which required the follow-up MRI that now revealed a new tear. It is unclear how he suffered the second tear.

“Since my initial surgery on May 3rd to repair my meniscus, my rehabilitation proved longer and more difficult than anticipated,” Trout said in a social media post. “After months of hard work, I was devastated yesterday when an MRI showed a tear in my meniscus that will require surgery again — ending my hopes of returning this season.”

It would be an understatement to say that Trout has suffered injuries over the last half-decade. Last campaign, he missed 80 matches due to a fractured left hamate. In 2021, he only appeared in 36 matches due to a right calf strain. And because of the knee injuries this year, Trout will again finish with fewer than 50 games played (29).

“Nobody wants to play more. Nobody cares about this building, this fan base, this team more than he does,” Minasian said. “He’s going to come back, have a normal offseason and come back next season and hit 70 home runs and win MVP. Book it.”

It is, honestly, a remarkable and unfortunate turn of events for Trout in the last half of what might be a Hall of Fame career. From 2012-19, he was undoubtedly the top player in the sport.

In that span, Trout won three AL MVP awards (2014, ‘16 and ‘19), AL Rookie of the Year award (2012), and seven Silver Slugger awards. He was also an All-Star every year.