The player the Angels can least afford to lose to injury will be out for at least a month and possibly more after star center fielder Mike Trout was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb on Monday.
Trout, considered the best all-around player in baseball, jammed the thumb into the second-base bag on a head-first slide in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game at Miami. Initial X-rays were negative for fractures, but an MRI test on Monday revealed the severity of the injury.
“At this point in time, surgery is an option,” general manager Billy Eppler said before Monday night’s game against Atlanta.