Angels’ Trout details a ‘frustrating’ year cut short
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout, typically as composed as anybody in his profession, was visibly emotional while talking about his recent string of injuries Monday, one day after Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin declared that Trout would not return from his recent hand injury in time to play again this season.
Trout, on a trajectory to being one of the greatest players in baseball history as recently as 2020, has played in fewer than half of the Angels’ games over the past three years.
His tally this year will be 82.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Trout said, visibly shaken. “I wanted to get back. It’s tough. It’s been hard.”
Trout, 32, won three American League MVP awards within his first eight full seasons and finished as the runner-up in four other instances. But a torn calf muscle kept him off the field beyond the middle of May in 2021. In 2022, he missed a little more than a month around midseason because of a troublesome back issue. His goal entering 2023 was simply to remain healthy.
“I hired a ton of people to work on my body,” Trout said. “My body felt great. A freak thing happened and I broke my hand.”
Trout suffered a fracture to the hamate bone on the bottom part of his left hand while completing a swing in San Diego on July 3. He pushed to come back seven weeks later, on Aug. 22, with the Angels still on the fringes of contention, but his hand didn’t respond favorably. He played in one game before returning to the injured list and will not be activated again, his season ending with a .263/.367/.490 slash line and 18 home runs.
“When I came back, I was in pain,” Trout said. “My swing wasn’t right. Just wasn’t myself. I was taking it day-to-day, trying for the soreness and just the discomfort to go away. It never did. Now, giving it a few extra days off, it’s going away. I’m starting my swing process. I’ve been swinging. I’m not going to come back, but I wanted to. I just wanted to get my head straight for the offseason, clear my mind. Just have a healthy offseason.”
This offseason will come with more questions than ever for Trout and the Angels. Trout has seven years and nearly $250 million remaining on the mega-extension he signed heading into the 2019 season, and there are questions throughout the industry about whether he and the Angels might actually part ways.
Trout’s age and recent injury history — not to mention the fact that he has the right to block any trade — would make it exceedingly difficult to move his contract. But former teammates have wondered recently if Trout has reached a tipping point and might ask Angels owner Arte Moreno, team president John Carpino and general manager Perry Minasian to work out a trade this offseason. Trout gave no indications that was the case while addressing the media Monday, but he also didn’t necessarily dispel the notion.
He is expected to meet with the front office to talk about the team’s direction in the near future.
“These conversations happen every year, not just this year,” Trout said. “They’re private conversations I have with the front office — John and Perry, all those guys up there. So just keep it as that. The plan, as it always is, is to take a couple weeks off in the offseason, clear my mind, get in shape, get ready to play and go from there.”
Trout provided a similar answer when asked if he wants to see it through with the Angels, saying: “I go through this every year. That’s private conversations I have with Arte and John, and I’m doing the same thing I did last, what, 13 years, just go into the offseason, clear my mind, get ready for spring and, you know, wearing an Angels uniform in spring.”
The Angels began the final week of the regular season with a 70-86 record, having already clinched their eighth consecutive losing season to set a franchise record.
The Angels went on a run early in the second half to vault back into contention, at which point the front office decided not to trade Shohei Ohtani and instead augment an ailing roster by dealing away prospects from a relatively thin farm system. The Angels then went 8-19 during a nightmarish August, a month that saw Ohtani suffer a torn ulnar collateral ligament that prematurely ended his season as a pitcher. Ohtani, whose season as a hitter ended with an oblique injury, will soon enter free agency and is widely expected to sign elsewhere.
“People ask me this all the time, ‘Where’s Shohei going to go?’ Couldn’t tell you. It’s up to him,” Trout said. “You got to ask him. Ultimately it comes down to his decision. He hasn’t said anything to me. He keeps it quiet, just does his own stuff. As another teammate, I think just give him his privacy. It’s his decision. He’s going to do what’s right for him. We’ll see how that goes.”
The Angels are expected to do everything possible to re-sign Ohtani. But they’re burdened by their commitment with Anthony Rendon, who has played in just 148 games over the past three years and is owed another $114 million over the next three. Young players such as catcher Logan O’Hoppe, shortstop Zach Neto, first baseman Nolan Schanuel and outfielder Mickey Moniak have emerged this season, but the Angels would nonetheless have a litany of holes to fill throughout their roster this offseason if they hope to try to contend next year.
Of utmost importance is for Trout to get healthy.
Nobody feels that more than him.
“I just want to be out there,” Trout said. “Injuries suck. All the hard work and stuff and just freak stuff happens. I try to stay positive.”
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Adam Rittenberg
Quarterback Brendan Sullivan, who started games midway through the 2024 season for Iowa, entered the transfer portal Friday.
In a social media post, Sullivan said he “loved and enjoyed every second” he spent with the Hawkeyes but opted to enter the portal in his “best interest.”
— Brendan Sullivan (@bsully02) April 12, 2025
Sullivan, who transferred to Iowa from Northwestern last spring, took over for Cade McNamara midway through a game against his former team and then started the next two games against Wisconsin and UCLA. After missing two games with an ankle injury, he returned to start the Hawkeyes’ 27-24 loss to Missouri in the Music City Bowl.
In January, Iowa added quarterback transfer Mark Gronowski, who won 49 games and an FCS national title at South Dakota State. Gronowski underwent offseason shoulder surgery and has not participated in the Hawkeyes’ spring practices. He told reporters Thursday that he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery and has started to throw passes with the goal of being 100% by June 1.
Iowa also added Hank Brown, a transfer from Auburn who made two starts in 2024.
A native of Davison, Michigan, Sullivan completed 38 of 53 passes for 475 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions, while adding 150 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the Hawkeyes. He started games for Northwestern in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, recording 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, but transferred after falling behind Jack Lausch on the spring depth chart.
Sullivan redshirted in 2021 and has one year of eligibility left.
“Someone is gonna get a great dude and a hell of a competitor in Sully!” Iowa general manager Tyler Barnes posted on X.
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Andrea Adelson
Pro Football Hall of Famer and Syracuse alum Dwight Freeney has joined the Orange staff in player development, the school announced Friday.
Freeney played defensive end at Syracuse from 1998 to 2001, totaling 34 sacks before becoming a first-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2002. He spent 16 seasons in the NFL, becoming one of the greatest pass rushers of all time.
In 2024, Freeney was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He had his No. 54 jersey retired at Syracuse later that same year.
“The time is now,” Freeney said in a statement. “I think that Syracuse has a lot of good things going. A great foundation and I think they need a push to be able to maintain and exceed that — that is what I hope I’m able to do. My schedule is now a lot freer than it has been in years past, so I’ll be able to help however is needed and in whatever way I can.”
Syracuse went 10-3 last year in the first season under coach Fran Brown.
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