Mike Trout returns to lineup as Angels fall further behind in playoff race
The Los Angeles Angels announced Tuesday that three-time MVP Mike Trout has been activated from the injured list after nearly two months off.
He's available to play Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds.
he's baaack 🐐#GoHalos | @MikeTrout https://t.co/4epM3TUyCq pic.twitter.com/IEZOEraNC9
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 22, 2023
The Angels placed Trout on the injured list on July 4 after he broke a bone in his left wrist. Since then, they made moves at the trade deadline to improve the roster for a playoff push. But a post-All-Star-break swoon has the team at 61-64, 11 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West and nine games behind the final spot in the AL wild-card standings.
Trout's return is certainly welcome, but is it too late for the Angels?
The stakes are high in Anaheim, with implications extending well beyond this postseason. The Angels were buyers at the deadline partly in an effort to entice Shohei Ohtani to remain with the team.
Now they face the significant risk of missing the postseason for the sixth time in six seasons since Ohtani joined the team, a prospect that many expect would prompt the two-way star to leave this winter in free agency.
Trout's return is certainly a boost for the Angels. But they remain a long shot at best to rejoin the playoff race with 37 games left in the regular season.
