Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout to report to minor league affiliate

 The Los Angeles Angels have been clawing their way back into the race since Mike Trout went down with a thumb injury. The best player in baseball will be reporting to the team’s California League affiliate (Hi-A) in Inland Empire on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Angels tweeted out Sunday afternoon, “Mike Trout will not travel with the club to Minnesota. He will have a private workout on Monday and join our Inland Empire affiliate for a full workout on Tuesday. Once Mike demonstrates physical readiness, he will begin playing in rehab games with our Inland Empire affiliate. We will have an updated plan of care for Mike post-workout on Tuesday.”

It certainly doesn’t sound like a pre-All Star return is going to happen, but, and this is pure speculation here, if Trout’s workouts go well on Monday and Tuesday and he is playing in games by the weekend, he’ll also be able to play in the minors during the All Star break, so a return to start the second half could be possible. Again, that is pure speculation, but doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibilities.

As for the Angels, it will be interesting to see what happens with their outfield once Trout returns. A lot of attention has been given to the performance of Eric Young Jr. in recent weeks, but in the month of June he was four percent below league average at the plate while playing plus defense. Will he get a little more playing time somehow?

The real standouts in Trout’s absence have been Cameron Maybin, who also missed some time last month, and Kole Calhoun. Maybin swiped eleven bags in 19 games, hit .284 with a .333 OBP and scored 20 runs. He also put up a wRC+ of 118. Calhoun hit .324 with a .388 OBP, five homers, 17 runs scored and drove home 22. He had a wRC+ of 142.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Both Andrelton Simmons and Calhoun accumulated a 1.0 fWAR in June, only Simmons didn’t get as much help from his BABIP, with just a .297 average (he hit .294 last month), while Calhoun’s BABIP way up at .349, more than fifty points higher.

On the rubber, Angels’ starters went just 8-12 in 28 games with a 4.89 ERA (5.47 FIP) and were one of only three teams that had a negative WAR for the month of June along with the White Sox and the ever-terrible Reds rotation.

On the flip side of that, the Angels had one of the most productive bullpens in June, ranking sixth in WAR (1.3) with a 6-2 record and a 3.46 ERA (3.26 FIP). The WAR and the ERA/FIP totals are right in line with what the bullpen put up in May, while the starting staff dipped just a little.

When Mike Trout went down on May 28 the Angels were one game below .500. After the game on Sunday July 2 they are right at .500, following their loss to Seattle. They have held steady without Mike Trout and with the team getting a little healthier with the returns of Cam Bedrosian and Huston Street to the bullpen, they may be able to legitimately stick around in the wild card race.

Next: Price, Red Sox continue to be a bad combo

They stand just a half-game out of the second wild card at the time of this writing, with the Royals and Twins the only teams between them and Tampa Bay, who holds that last spot. The Royals could be moving parts at the deadline, and it has been a while since Minnesota has been in a playoff hunt, so we’ll have to see how they hold up for the duration.

In a league of flawed teams the Angels have their own blemishes. But before long they’ll also have Mike Trout.