The Angels announced that Mike Trout’s fourth rehabilitation game with Class-A Inland Empire was his last rehabilitation game. The reigning MVP will return to big league action when big league action resumes on Friday.
Trout has been out since May 28, when he tore a ligament in his left thumb while sliding headfirst into second base. He missed 39 games. The Angels managed to tread water while he was gone, going 19-20 during Trout’s absence. Not that it matters all that much with the Astros beating the heck out of the world and holding a 16.5 game lead. The Angels are only three back in the Wild Card, however, with the Twins, Royals Rays and Yankees ahead of them.
Trout was well on his way to a third MVP season when he went down, hitting batting .337/.461/.742 with 16 homers, 36 RBIs and ten stolen bases in 47 games. It’s hard to miss as much time as he has and still rate for postseason awards, but if Trout quickly resumes his pre-injury form and the Angels make a playoff push, he’ll be right back in the conversation.