ANAHEIM — Mike Trout’s progress toward a return to right field has stalled.
Trout said on Sunday that he hasn’t done drills in the outfield since Tuesday because of continuing soreness in his left knee.
Trout still feels well enough to be in the lineup as the DH, so he doesn’t seem willing to jeopardize that by pushing himself to play right field.
“As long as I’m in the lineup, that’s the biggest thing,” Trout said. “It’s manageable right now.”
Trout, 33, suffered a bone bruise in his left knee in late April. The three-time American League MVP tore the meniscus in that knee last year, requiring two surgeries.
Trout missed four weeks with the bone bruise and has only been the DH since. He’s started 49 of 51 games since then, all at DH.
The motivation to get him back into the outfield, at least some of the time, is because it would allow other players to get off their feet in the DH spot. Jorge Soler has been on the injured list twice with back problems since he’s been forced to play so much outfield. He acknowledged on Saturday night that it’s been a problem for him.
Trout began doing outfield drills after the All-Star break, working out for two days last weekend in Philadelphia and two more earlier this week in New York. That’s when he had to stop.
“Last few days, it’s been achy little bit, been barking a bit,” Trout said. “So just slow some things down a little bit. Still trying to get back out there for sure. When I ramped up the intensity, it was getting more sore, more sore. Just trying to stay in the lineup.”
Trout said he’s also felt it when running the bases, and occasionally when he’s hitting. He’s not sure when he’ll resume outfield work, but he hasn’t given up.
“It’s up in the air,” Trout said. “I could come in tomorrow and feel fine. I don’t know. The goal is still to get in the outfield by the end of the year.”
Trout is hitting .237 with an .831 OPS after Sunday’s game, including .271 with an .888 OPS since coming off the injured list. Interim manager Ray Montgomery moved him from the No. 3 spot to the No. 2 spot, in recognition of his .413 on-base percentage since coming back.
Trout has slumped more recently, with a .200 average and .697 OPS in his first nine games after the All-Star break, although those numbers went up with two hits, including a homer, on Sunday. He reached 1,001 career RBIs on Sunday, and he’s now at 397 homers.
“I was feeling really good before the break,” Trout said. “Came back, felt OK. I think when the lower half is working properly, everything’s in place. Just right now, coming across the ball a little bit.”
KOCHANOWICZ TO RETURN
Jack Kochanowicz will rejoin the Angels’ rotation to start on Monday night, Montgomery said after Sunday’s game.
Kochanowicz was pulled from the rotation with a 6.03 ERA in 19 starts and sent to Triple-A before the All-Star break. He started once for Salt Lake, allowing one unearned run in five innings, and was scratched from his next start.
Montgomery compared it to when Reid Detmers was sent down for one start in 2022. Detmers had a 4.66 ERA when he was sent down, and he returned a couple of weeks later and posted a 3.04 ERA for the rest of the season.
“He went down there and made a quick adjustment,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes it’s as easy as just to refresh for the brain or reset. Jack’s gonna be a big part of what we’re doing. We need him. While it’s only one start, it was a good start.”
During his one outing in the minors, Kochanowicz threw only his sinker, with no four-seam fastballs. Montgomery said they will want Kochanowicz to have both fastballs in his arsenal, but he needed to make sure his sinker was dialed in because that’s his best pitch.
NOTES
Second baseman Christian Moore (sprained thumb) continued to increase his workload, both defensively and swinging the bat. Montgomery said he doesn’t know the timeline for how quickly Moore could be ready for a rehab assignment. …
Third baseman Yoán Moncada was out of the lineup on Sunday after being hit in the hand by a pitch on Saturday. Montgomery said he wasn’t sure if Moncada would be available later in the game.
UP NEXT
Rangers (RHP Jacob deGrom, 10-2, 2.28 ERA) at Angels (RHP Jack Kochanowicz, 3-9, 6.03 ERA), Monday, 6:38 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM
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