Trout to miss 4-8 weeks with fractured bone in wrist

SAN DIEGO -- The Angels were dealt a huge blow on Tuesday, as superstar center fielder Mike Trout was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left hamate fracture.

Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, sustained the wrist injury on Monday, when he fouled a ball back while facing Padres right-hander Nick Martinez in the eighth inning at Petco Park. Trout is expected to be out roughly four to eight weeks, which means he’ll be out until at least early August and possibly into September.

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Trout said he had several players who sustained a hamate fracture reach out to give advice and heard it can take as soon as four weeks to return, but he acknowledged it often takes longer. He’s still getting a second opinion to decide whether he’ll need surgery, but it’s considered likely.

“I kind of knew it wasn’t good,” Trout said. “It’s just a freak thing. I had a lot of guys reach out who had the surgery or the injury before. Some guys came back in four weeks. Some guys took longer. We’ll see how it goes.”

Outfielder Jo Adell and right-hander Gerardo Reyes were recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. Right-hander Victor Mederos was optioned to Double-A Rocket City. The Angels now have an outfield combination of Taylor Ward, Hunter Renfroe, Mickey Moniak and Adell.

“I think everybody in there knows we’re going to have bumps in the road and we’ve had guys go down,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “We’ve had the same motto since the beginning of the season that those things happen and it’s the next man up and we keep playing. No one's going to feel sorry for us. No reason for us to do the same.”

Trout, who was selected as an All-Star for the 11th time and as a starter for the 10th straight year on Thursday, had been heating up at the plate. The injury means Trout, who was voted as a starter, will miss his third straight All-Star Game.

“It’s tough,” Trout said. “I was really looking forward to it. It’s frustrating.”

The 31-year-old has a slash line of .333/.438/.648 over his past 15 games, with four homers, three doubles and seven RBIs. Trout has slashed .263/.369/.493 with 18 homers, 14 doubles and 44 RBIs in 81 games this season. His OPS of .862 is a step down from his otherworldly career OPS of .994, but he worked to fix his mechanics in mid-June and had been looking more like his old self.

Trout said he was told by the training staff that there was nothing he could’ve done to prevent the injury -- it was just an unfortunate injury that occurred on one swing of the bat.

“Looking back, I had no soreness or anything like that,” Trout said. “Just felt something really painful and weird. Talking to other guys, it's basically the same thing that happened to them. It’s frustrating because my body has felt great. I had a routine and was sticking with it and this freak thing happens. But at least it’s not crazy serious or season-ending.”

Adell, 24, will now get his chance as a regular in the outfield. The former top prospect slashed .271/.376/.580 with a Minor League-leading 23 homers in 72 games with Triple-A Salt Lake. Adell is expected to see time in both center field and right field with Trout out. Moniak will continue to start against right-handers; he started in center on Tuesday with Adell on the bench.

“I’m glad to be here, but the circumstances aren’t great because you don’t want to see Mike go down and miss any amount of time,” Adell said. “But I’m going to come in and, hopefully, do my job and keep this thing rocking. We have a really good thing going here, and I want to be a part of that.”