Kent Bewley's News Story Collection

On Thur, Jun 18, the Los Angeles Angels got some bad injury news after a series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks the day before and ahead of the series opener of a four-game series against the Athletics in West Sacramento. Part of that news is that Mike Trout will be placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. This marks the seventh consecutive season (not counting 2020) where Trout has had to spend at least a minimum stint on the IL as injuries continue weighing down his ability to stay available for a Halos team that relies on his presence in the starting lineup. Trout currently leads the team in home runs with 17 as he hit two of them at Chase Field earlier this week. In the series finale in Arizona, Trout played as the designated hitter and might have caused his injury when running for an infield single in the first inning of the 8-1 loss.

In response to Trout landing on the IL, the Angels called up star prospect Christian Moore, who has been playing well with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. Moore is currently hitting .333 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs in Pacific Coast League play and he joins fellow minor league teammate Denzer Guzman on the big league roster. Last season, Moore was called up around the same time in June for his major league debut and spent time on the injured list with a finger sprain before returning to finish out the season strong. Moore has also been expanding his defensive reach in the minors, with him playing some games in left field for the Bees. That defensive diversity along with his incredible batting average made his call-up more sensible as he can share left field reps with Wade Meckler while José Siri will serve as the main center fielder for the Halos with Trout out. Vaughn Grissom, who recently returned from his IL stint, can also play in the outfield if necessary, giving the Angels multiple options to mix and match while Trout is out.

Trout did say that he expects this IL stint to be closer to the minimum time of ten days, so he could return by the end of this month or the beginning of July. Still, this injury puts his status of playing in the All-Star Game in jeopardy if he doesn’t receive enough votes to make the starters ballot(which he is currently projected to make) or if he doesn’t secure one of the top three spots for American League outfielders on the starters ballot. But Trout isn’t the only big name outfielder in the AL All-Star Game voting who is out with an injury, as Aaron Judge(who currently leads all AL outfielders in voting) is out with a severe rib injury. Trout is currently in second place among AL outfielders and is ahead of players in the top six such as Byron Buxton, Julio Rodriguez, Cody Bellinger and Riley Greene. But an injury preventing Trout from playing in the All-Star Game has happened three times in recent years, with an appearance in the 2021 edition ruined due to a season-ending oblique injury, 2022 at Dodger Stadium being prevented due to a back ailment and 2023 in Seattle being cut short due to a hamate bone injury that he suffered just a mere week before the game was played. So, the fan voters might hold a bit of dubious doubt in their minds as to whether Trout will be able to return from the injured list before this season’s All-Star Game occurring at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Trout is a big fan of the Eagles and other Philly sports teams due to him growing up close to the City of Brotherly Love in Millville, New Jersey. The game is set to be played on Tues, Jul 14, so Trout has a tight timeline to return off the injured list and the Angels’ athletic trainers certainly would not want him to rush back from an injury. Especially for a team in an unfavorable spot in the standings.

In other news, the pitching staff continues to have holes in it due to injuries as Grayson Rodriguez was placed on the IL due to lower back tightness suffered in his last start versus the Tampa Bay Rays on Sun, Jun 14. José Soriano has also been dealing with chest pains due to a ball that he was hit by on a line drive in his previous start on Sat, Jun 13 against Tampa Bay. Soriano went five innings and got the win, but he is not slated to make the start in tonight’s game against the A’s. Instead, Ryan Johnson has been recalled from Double-A Rocket City to make the start. Johnson has made one start at the big league level this year along with making three relief appearances in May and his numbers are less than favorable. But he is getting the starting nod over potential bullpen candidates like Mitch Farris and Samy Natera Jr. Soriano is currently projected to start the second game of the series in West Sacramento on Fri, Jun 19 and whether he actually makes the start is unknown.

The Angels have been getting bit hard by the injury bug as they are 30-45 through 75 games played in the 2026 season and currently sit in last place in the AL West. Let’s see if they can right the ship with some wins or if they go down further into having one of the worst records in MLB this season.