Trout trending in the right direction after minor setback

ANAHEIM -- After feeling discomfort in his left knee during the first game of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, Angels superstar Mike Trout decided to shut it down after two innings.

After still not feeling right and experiencing a popping sensation while trying to loosen his knee on Wednesday, Trout flew back to the Los Angeles area for an MRI exam. The results came back clean, and he’s expected to start running on the field again in the coming days, he revealed before Friday's 5-4 loss to the A's. Trout, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee on May 3, said it was just scar tissue breaking up in his knee.

“It’s a huge relief for me,” Trout said. “I just have to make sure it feels good and I’ll be back out there. Scar tissue breaking up is a weird feeling and I’d never experienced that. It was frustrating because leading up to that, like the last week, I hadn't felt anything. I was pain-free. No soreness, nothing. Just in the second inning, I felt something that didn’t feel right.”

Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, initially suffered the injury against the Red Sox on April 29 and started baseball activities in early July. Over the weekend at the club's Spring Training complex in Arizona, he faced live pitching and ran in the outfield and on the bases without any issues. He was cleared to begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake. Trout was scheduled to play three games there with a target date of returning on Friday against the A’s but saw that pushed back due to his setback.

Trout said his next step will be running on the field again, and if he feels fine doing that, he should be able to return quickly. He believes he’ll be ready to start running in the coming days, and it sounds like he’ll skip a rehab assignment this time and just be activated once he feels ready.

Trout didn’t want to put a date on exactly when he’ll return, but he believes the setback is only short-term.

“It could be any day,” Trout said. “When it feels right, I’ll be out there running. I have a little [soreness] today. But I talked to a lot of guys who had this injury and they say the scar tissue breaks up and it takes a couple days.”

Trout, 32, was hitting .220/.325/.541 with 10 homers, two triples, six stolen bases and 12 RBIs in 29 games before sustaining the injury on an unknown play. With Trout out of the lineup the last three months, Mickey Moniak has mostly served as his replacement and has been heating up at the plate after a slow start. Veteran Kevin Pillar has also provided a boost after being signed the same day the club announced Trout had torn his meniscus.

Angels manager Ron Washington was pleased to hear that Trout received good news from the medical staff about his knee and is excited for him to rejoin his young club. Once he returns, Trout will likely be eased back into action and could even see time as a designated hitter, much like the Angels have done with fellow veteran Anthony Rendon.

“We’re ready for him to start ramping up and get in the lineup,” Washington said. “Any time you have an operation, it’s a mental hurdle. For me, he doesn’t have to be 100 percent. His presence is just as important as his performance. When he feels like he's ready to go, we’re definitely going to pencil him in. To hear that news today, that he says he's getting there, that's good news because I think these young kids need his presence out there.”