Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout tears thumb ligament, out 6-8 weeks
Superstar outfielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels will miss six to eight weeks after tearing a ligament in his left thumb.
According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group, the Los Angeles Angels have placed superstar Mike Trout on the 10-day disabled list. The decision comes after an MRI identified a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the outfielder's left thumb, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
Even worse, the Los Angeles Angels announced that Trout will undergo surgery to correct the issue. He will miss six to eight weeks after going under the knife on Wednesday. The outfielder has never spent any time on the disabled list, meaning that this prolonged absence comes without precedent.
The 2017 season had been shaping up to be something special for Mike Trout. Before sustaining the injury, he was on his way to posting career bests in both the contact and power departments. His isolated power of .405 came in well above all prior seasons, and the same was true for his .461 on-base percentage.
Combining Trout's offensive strides with a resurgence in the stolen base department put him on pace to contend again for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. The 25-year-old won the honor last year for the second time in his career, and a repeat looked fairly likely given his lead in many statistical categories. FanGraphs had valued his work at 3.6 wins above replacement, a full win more than the next-best batter.
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It goes without saying that the Los Angeles Angels will have a hard time recovering from this loss. Mike Trout is the best player in baseball right now, and it is effectively impossible to replace him. It cannot be done.
Still, the Halos have called up Eric Young Jr. to take Trout's spot on the 25-man roster. Young, who just turned 32 years old last week, has never really thrived at the major-league level. He first surfaced with the Colorado Rockies back in 2009 but failed to retain a full-time role. He eventually made his way to the Angels' Triple-A affiliate after spending 2015 and 2016 with four different teams.
Interestingly enough, Young has played quite well in the Angels' system this year. Through 44 Triple-A games, the switch-hitter has batted .354 with five home runs and 10 doubles. For Young to post anything near average figures would be quite the turnaround after being unable to provide any kind of value at the plate over the past few years.
As for how this will affect the Los Angeles Angels' playoff outlook, things do not look so great. The team is two games below .500, 10 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West, and suddenly without their best player. It is all but certain that their season is over.
