OAKLAND, Calif. — The days are counting down for another painfully familiar ending for Mike Trout.
Trout is hurt, and so are the Angels, limping toward their eighth straight losing season.
At this point in the 32-year-old Trout’s career, he accepts that people want to know his opinion on the direction of the franchise and his role in it.
Before he gives his thoughts, he has some questions for Angels management.
“When it’s brought up in the offseason, you’ve obviously got to talk about it, and think about it,” he said. “I haven’t thought about it yet. There are going to be some conversations in the winter, for sure. Just to see the direction of everything and what the plan is.”
Asked if he could see a scenario in which he would ask for a trade from the only franchise he’s known, Trout said: “I’m not even going to comment on that.”
In reality, trading Trout would be difficult. Trout has seven years and $252 million left on his contract.
He missed almost all of 2021 with a strained calf, about six weeks of 2022 with a back injury and so far about eight weeks with a broken hamate bone.
Trout acknowledged that the injuries have led to his career taking a disappointing turn, and he’s focused on turning it around.
“100 percent,” Trout said. “If you look back at the last few years, I’ve been banged up. To go out there and put a full year together, that’s the main goal for everybody, especially myself.”
Trout said he had a new program this year to prevent the type of muscular injuries he had in 2021 and 2022, making it even more frustrating the way he got hurt this year.
“I can’t control breaking my hand,” he said. “It just happened. This is the best my body’s felt, midway through the season, in my career, ever since I first came up. Just the preparation and the pregame routine, we had a good a good little routine going. My body felt good and then that happened. It obviously sucks and frustrates me, but I gotta come back stronger.”
Trout said his hand is “getting a lot better,” but he still isn’t swinging a bat because he’s still waiting for the pain to subside to the point that he “doesn’t feel anything.” He added that his “plan” is to come back and play this season, but he conceded that the team’s position in the standings meant risking further injury wouldn’t be a good idea.
“We’re gonna be smart about it,” Trout said. “When it feels right, I’m going to go out there. It could be a few days, could be a week. I don’t have a timeline on it. It’s frustrating.”
Trout said he “rushed it” when he came back for one game two weeks ago. He felt some pain and went back on the injured list.
Since then, the Angels clearly signaled the end to their push for the playoffs in 2023 by placing six players on waivers.
“I was surprised as much as everybody was” by the waiver moves, Trout said. “I didn’t see what was coming.”
Trout also said he has not talked to Shohei Ohtani about what he has in mind for his free agency this winter.
“I really haven’t asked him,” Trout said. “Ultimately you can hear all the speculation and whatever you’re going to hear. It all comes down to what he wants and he doesn’t really mention anything about that.”