Star Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout has been one of the best and most talented players in baseball throughout his 11-year MLB career, but the three-time MVP’s future may be in question after a surprising health diagnosis became public Wednesday afternoon.
Angels head athletic trainer Mike Frostad revealed on Wednesday that Trout is dealing with a “rare condition” in his back that the star outfielder will likely will have to deal with “through the rest of his career.”
“This is a pretty rare condition that he has right now in his back,” Frostad told ESPN. “The doctor [Robert Watkins III], who is one of the most well-known spine surgeons in the country — if not the world, doesn’t see a lot of these.
“And for it to happen in a baseball player — we just have to take into consideration what he puts himself through with hitting, swinging on a daily basis just to get prepared, and then also playing in the outfield, diving for balls, jumping into the wall — things like that. There’s so many things that can aggravate it. But this doctor hasn’t seen a lot of it.”
The Angels initially expected their star outfielder to return quickly after he was placed on the injured list on July 18 with rib cage inflammation that was creating pain in his back. But now the timeline of his return is much more uncertain as he could be dealing with a much more long-term injury.
Naturally, the Major League Baseball world was stunned by the announcement and took to Twitter to express their concern about Trout’s health.
The Mike Trout news is heartbreaking and giving me intense David Wright flashbacks and I don't like it.
— Allison McCague, PhD
(@PetitePhD) July 27, 2022
don't do this, baseball gods pic.twitter.com/LNEZ91D3II
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 27, 2022
Frostad told ESPN that the 10-time All-Star is “upbeat” about his current injury condition.
[ESPN]
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