Angels get 'huge lift' with Trout back from IL

ANAHEIM -- Wearing his red Angels cap backward as he sat in the home dugout, Mike Trout couldn’t help but smile when he announced, “I’m back,” before Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Reds.

Trout, who missed 38 games after suffering a hamate fracture in his left hand on a swing on July 3, was reinstated from the injured list before the series opener at Angel Stadium. Fellow outfielder Jordyn Adams was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake to make room.

Trout, a three-time American League MVP and 11-time All-Star, faced live pitching on Thursday to get ready for his return and didn’t go on a rehab assignment. He went 1-for-4 with an infield single on Tuesday. Brandon Drury, Mike Moustakas and Logan O’Hoppe added homers, but rookie first baseman Nolan Schanuel made a critical error with two outs in the fifth that allowed the Reds to plate three unearned runs.

“It was a long time coming, but I’m just excited to be back out there,” Trout said before the game. “I talked to some doctors, and they said I can’t injure it more. There’s definitely going to be soreness in there. But I’m just happy to be out there with the guys.”

Trout, 32, joins an Angels club that went 16-22 without him, and with Tuesday’s loss, they are a season-low four games under .500 at 61-65. They trail the Mariners by 10 games in the AL Wild Card chase, but Trout is trying to stay optimistic about his club’s chances of making the postseason for the first time since 2014.

Trout did everything he could to return as soon as possible and acknowledged he’ll be dealing with pain in his hand the rest of the season. But he said he plans to try to be in the lineup as much as possible down the stretch to try to get the Angels back in the race.

“We went through a little stretch there, but we have 37 games left,” Trout said. “Obviously, this isn’t where we wanted to be right now. But we’re not giving up. But we’re running out of time, so I expect to try to be in there every day.”

The team also looks much different than in early July, as the Angels made several trades, acquiring veterans such as Moustakas, Eduardo Escobar, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Dominic Leone. They also called up Schanuel on Friday just 40 days after he was taken with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, and O’Hoppe was activated from the IL on Friday after missing 103 games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

“I just think there’s a different buzz in the room,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said of Trout’s return. “There's a lot of guys we traded for that haven't had a chance to play with the guy. He was just the teammate in the dugout trying to help everybody. But now, getting him back on the field is going to be a huge lift for everybody.”

Trout hit .263/.369/.493 with 18 homers, 14 doubles and 44 RBIs in 81 games prior to sustaining the injury, which caused him to have his hook of the hamate bone removed. He was also heating up offensively before getting injured, hitting .333/.438/.648 with four homers and three doubles over his previous 15 games.

He’s hopeful he’ll be able to finish the season strong much like last year, when he dealt with a back injury in mid-July that caused him to miss roughly a month but didn’t affect him the rest of the way. Trout hit 12 homers between last September and October to finish with 40 blasts in 119 games.

Trout said he’s optimistic the injury won’t sap him of any of his power, and he’s added more padding to his left batting glove to help tolerate the discomfort. He added that he experimented with using an axe bat handle, but he likes using a traditional knob better and will stick with his normal bat.

“Over time, it’s going to get back to full strength,” Trout said. “I’m just looking to finish strong. Before the injury, I was starting to feel like myself again. So I’m just looking to finish strong and keep fighting.”