It’s Time For Angels, MLB Fans to Alter Mike Trout Expectations

With the news that dropped on Thursday that Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout has suffered a season-ending knee injury, the reality has seemingly set in that Trout’s best and most productive years are likely behind him.

Coming up on his 33rd birthday next week (August 7), Trout’s hopes for returning in 2024 were submarined by another meniscus tear, officially ending another of his prime seasons early.

Since the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Trout has played in more than 100 games in a season only once (119 in 2022) and has watched as the second half of those campaigns has become a vanishing act.

With the Angels building around youth, there is still certainly a place for the veteran Trout in Anaheim. However, the Angels have to be realistic that counting on Trout for a significant portion of future seasons is a stretch. If Trout returns in 2025 and plays in 130-plus games, that would be a win for the franchise, no matter the team’s overall record. However, that “if” is a big one.

There is little doubt that, as a fierce competitor, Trout will work to come back “even stronger” in 2025 as he wrote on social media on Thursday. But will all of that work lead to him staying on the field longer? It hasn’t happened in recent seasons, and Trout’s aging body is signaling it will be a roll of the dice for it to actually happen in 2025.

So what can the Angels do if they truly intend to compete in 2025? Plan for a roster that will be strong without Trout in the lineup and even stronger when his bat is added to the mix. Build a team that will be viable with or without Trout. Using Trout as a focus of the lineup can’t be a mistake the franchise can make again in 2025 and beyond.

Yes, Trout is still a Hall of Famer, even with the injury-shortened seasons on the resume. But, even with a place in Cooperstown likely secured, that doesn’t mean that the Halos’ plans have to revolve around him moving forward.

The Angels chose to keep players such as Tyler Anderson and Luis Rengifo at the trade deadline. The franchise knows that Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel will be back next season as well. A logical plan should be to use that offseason that manager Ron Washington referenced after the quiet MLB trade deadline to build around them. Finally, have Trout be a part of the plan … but not a center of the plan.

There was a time earlier in his career when it would have been considered foolish to even think about the Angels replacing what Trout was bringing to the lineup every day. However, we are well past that point in time, considering he will finish 2024 with 10 home runs and 14 RBI. Those are numbers that are not irreplacable.

The Angels do expect Trout to be ready for spring training. He will bring with him to the Cactus League a contract that still has six years and $212.7 million remaining. He will also bring with him the hopes for a healthy season. In a best-case scenario, Trout plays like he did in 2022 with 40 home runs and 80 RBI. In a worst-case scenario, Trout plays as much as he did in 2021, 2023 or 2024.

Trout is a generational talent and will likely be remembered for the eye-popping start to his career as much as the injury-riddled second part of it. There is still time for Trout to show he can play at a premium level, but it certainly feels like the clock for that is ticking very loudly.

Enjoy the moments when Trout takes the field in 2025, but don’t take them for granted. That’s the mindset Angels (and MLB) fans must have moving forward.