Mike Trout Returns For The Angels, But It Might Be Too Late

Mike Trout hasn’t suited up for the Los Angeles Angels since July 3rd, and things have changed for the club since then. Now that he is being reactivated from the injured list, it might be too little too late for the team’s postseason hopes.

Mike Trout Activated. Is It Too Late For The Angels?

The @Angels today reinstated Mike Trout from the injured list.

Welcome back, @MikeTrout! pic.twitter.com/vgjR1pmYiz

— MLB (@MLB) August 22, 2023

The Angels entered the 2023 MLB season with modest expectations. They’d had two generational players on their roster for four years and had never achieved a winning season, but hopes were high given Shohei Ohtani’s emergence into a global superstar. The team’s record hovered around a predictable .500 mark over the first 60 games of the season, but turned things on once the end of May rolled around.

The Angels became one of the hottest teams in baseball, going 11-3 in their games played between June 4th and June 18th. They were still 5 games back of the division lead, but were firmly planted in the Wild Card race, holding on to the second of three spots.

They began to slip up as the month drew to a close. Their record dropped to 44-41 by July 1st, and then the injury bug hit. Mike Trout suffered a hand fracture on July 3rd that would force him to miss an extended period of time. They still had Ohtani, but the Angels floundered. It looked like they might gain back some ground after a nice two weeks following the break, but they find themselves in the midst of another unfortunate streak.

Angels Have 0.5% Chance Of Making The Playoffs

Ohtani, Sho us something you can’t do?! pic.twitter.com/BlkXFSdSPs

— MLB (@MLB) August 19, 2023

Los Angeles is 7-15 since July 28th, and have nearly played themselves out of the postseason picture altogether. As it stands today, the Angels are in 4th place in the AL West, 11 games back of the Texas Rangers. It doesn’t look much better in the Wild Card picture, as they are a full 9 games behind the Seattle Mariners with 39 games left to play.

It was announced on Tuesday afternoon that Trout would be activated ahead of the team’s game against the Reds. But is it too little too late? The Angels have been one of the streakiest teams in the league this year with their up and down performances throughout, but 9 games is a tough mountain to overcome.

According to FanGraphs, the Angels currently have a 0.5% chance of qualifying for the postseason.

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