Trout ‘feeling a lot better,’ hopeful of short IL stint
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Alden Gonzalez
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout, on the injured list after sustaining a bone bruise in his surgically repaired left knee, said Friday that he’s “feeling a lot better” and is hopeful of returning to the Los Angeles Angels‘ lineup as soon as eligible.
Trout had two surgeries to repair two separate meniscus tears in his left knee last year and said he was feeling good until the third inning of Wednesday’s game at Seattle, when the Angels’ star outfielder lunged toward first base with his left foot in an effort to beat out an infield single and felt discomfort.
Trout exited an inning later and underwent further evaluation when the team returned to Southern California the next day. Imaging did not reveal any structural damage.
“Talking to the doctors, I’ve had two meniscuses shaved down, and I just hit it perfectly on the bag,” Trout said. “Both bones hit each other, and I bruised both of them.”
Trout, who was wearing a sleeve on his left leg, was told to stay off his legs for “a couple days,” then ramp up slowly. Asked if he believes he can return after the 10-day minimum on the IL is up, Trout said, “Yeah, it’s certainly possible.”
Regardless of his length of stay, the 2025 season will mark the fifth straight year with Trout on the IL. Most of those stints have been defined by instances when he hoped to return a lot sooner than he ultimately did. In 2021, a torn calf muscle suffered in the middle of May kept him out for the rest of the year. In 2023, he missed seven weeks with a fractured bone in his wrist, came back for one game on Aug. 22 and missed the rest of the season.
The 2024 campaign was probably the most confounding of all. Trout suffered an initial meniscus tear April 29, underwent surgery four days later and began a rehab assignment 11 weeks later. Once he did, on July 23, he exited after one plate appearance and underwent an MRI that he said came back clean. Then Trout began to ramp back up, felt continual discomfort and underwent another MRI that revealed an additional tear, prompting season-ending surgery.
From 2021 to 2024, Trout — the three-time MVP, 11-time All-Star and nine-time Silver Slugger who was Major League Baseball’s best player throughout the 2010s — played in only 41% of the Angels’ games.
This time, though, Trout said he’s “not concerned at all” that he’ll be out for a prolonged stretch.
“No structural damage,” Trout said when asked why he thinks his optimism will be validated this time, “and the progress I’ve made from yesterday to today.”
Trout homered nine times in his first 29 games in 2025, but he also accumulated 36 strikeouts and batted only .179. His season is an embodiment of the Angels’ entire offense. Going into a matchup against reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, the Angels had the second-highest strikeout rate in the majors and the lowest walk rate. Their .662 OPS ranked 24th.
While Trout is out, the Angels will use Jorge Soler, Jo Adell and Gustavo Campero in right field, the position Trout transitioned to this spring in an effort to take some of the burden off his legs after a career spent in center. Trout has also made seven starts at designated hitter this year. The Angels have not determined whether he’ll have to do so more frequently upon return.
“That decision we’ll make when we sit down and talk to him and have him involved in that decision,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “We’re not going to make that decision just us. We’re going to include Mike. We just gotta see when he comes back. If for some reason that’s the case, he’ll get the DH slot. I’m not going to deny it to him.”
Trout seemed to chalk the injury up to a freak play and not the result of a chronic issue he will continually have to monitor. But last year’s surgeries have left Trout with less cushion in his left knee, altering joint mechanics and resulting in increased bone contact, making him more susceptible to these types of injuries.
“I’ll just try not to lunge at the bags, I guess,” Trout said. “Yeah, obviously, I gotta be a little bit careful, don’t do anything crazy. Talking to the doctors, they said once it fully heals, I’ll be good to go.”
ESPN’s Stephania Bell contributed to this report.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland board approved a $14.3 million contract on Wednesday to begin the demolition and rebuilding of Baltimore’s storied but antiquated Pimlico Race Course, home to the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.
The vote by the three-member Board of Public Works, which includes Gov. Wes Moore, was made 10 days before the 150th Preakness Stakes, which is scheduled for May 17. It will be the last time the annual horse race will be held with the existing structures in place before the track is rebuilt on the same site. The demolition will begin shortly after this year’s race.
“There cannot be a better time to announce the beginning of a transformation that will allow Pimlico to become a year-round hub for economic activity within the Park Heights community,” Moore said of the Baltimore neighborhood and longtime home of the race.
Under the plan, the Preakness will take place in Laurel Park, located just southwest of Baltimore, in 2026 while the new facility is built, before returning to Pimlico in time for the 2027 race.
Craig Thompson, the chair of the Maryland Stadium Authority which is overseeing the design of the new track, said the plan is to make Pimlico the home of Maryland thoroughbred racing. The track will go from hosting about 15 races a year to well over 100, Thompson said.
“This is more than just about a racetrack, as historic and important as it is,” Thompson said. “This is about bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in state investments to Park Heights.”
Thompson also shared a preview of the design plans. They include a new clubhouse with architecture inspired by the Rawlings Conservatory in Baltimore’s Druid Hill park and the original Pimlico Clubhouse, which included a colonnade and rooftop balconies, Thompson said.
Last year, the board approved a deal to transfer ownership of Pimlico from The Stronach Group to the State of Maryland in order to ensure the Preakness remains in Baltimore.
The state has been wrestling with what to do to restore the old racetrack for decades. Aptly nicknamed Old Hilltop, the track opened in 1870. It’s where Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Secretariat and many others pranced to the winner’s circle.
But its age has long been a concern. In 2019, the Maryland Jockey Club closed off nearly 7,000 grandstand seats, citing the “safety and security of all guests and employees.”
The horse racing industry and other equine industries have been a cornerstone of Maryland agriculture, as well as an integral part of preserving green space.
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