Yardbarker
x
Trout's loss leads to an early end of the road for the Angels
Mike Trout's UCL injury might have put an end to the Angels' hopes for 2017. Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Trout's loss leads to an early end of the road for the Angels

The Anaheim Angels lost 6-3 to the Atlanta Braves on Monday. It was their second loss in as many days, after dropping their Sunday series finale against the Miami Marlins as well. And while it is few and far between that a series against the Marlins holds any true weight these days, for the 2017 Angels, it could very well prove to be the line in the sand for their hopes for this summer.

This is because Sunday, May 28 will stand in infamy as the day that the Angels lost their everything in Mike Trout. Amid the best season of his historically significant start to his career, the reigning MVP tore the Ulner Collateral Ligament in his left hand on Sunday, an injury which could keep him out of action until after the All-Star break.

This is as devastating of a loss as possible for any team in the game to be faced with enduring. Even though Trout is the game’s top player, he is also arguably the biggest standout talent on any roster in the game. While the term ‘most valuable’ is one that is roundly argued in its significance every award season, those claims are rarely applied to what Trout represents in Anaheim.

The Angels are a terribly top-heavy team, and one that has long relied on the presence of Trout to mask its many other deficiencies. His 3.6 offensive Wins Above Replacement level are two times higher than any other Angel, with Andrelton Simmons’ 1.3 oWAR checking off far in the distance. Outside of Trout and Simmons, only Cameron Maybin –who carries a .242 average on the year and less extra base hits total than Trout has home runs— has been able to work up better than a 1 oWAR on the year.

How can the Angels survive without their star for that long? As is, despite his superhuman efforts, they were already treading water around the .500 line on the year. And while that mark was good enough to stay in second place in an underwhelming AL West, the reality of things is that they are not much better than the rest of the pack now, sans the seemingly unstoppable Houston Astros. The average win percentage in the division outside of the division leaders is .461, making them the only collective in the game that is failing to produce less than two teams with a winning record.

Anaheim was already slightly overshooting its predicted mark on the year with Trout, as FanGraphs had them pegged as a 79-83 club even with him. But even he was overshooting the best estimates for his own performance on the year, as ESPN predicted him to hit 33 home runs and drive in just south of 100 runs. In only 47 games, Trout had already approached 50 percent of that potential on the year. Where he was going was somewhere far and beyond where even he had been thus far. The 25-year-old was on pace to approach 50 home runs, top 40 doubles and steal 30 bases, among other feats. Such a season (50 home runs, 30 stolen bases) has never been done in MLB history, but Trout was setting himself up to be within firing range of it.

****

So what now in Anaheim? Literally every area of the Angels attack is crippled without the presence of Trout to work around. It was just a week ago that New York Mets manager Terry Collins flirted with the idea of walking Trout with the bases loaded. This was partially due to reverence for the ability of Trout, but also since the rest of the Angels lineup is a welcoming group to face off against.

The options for sparking a resurrection look bleak. The immediate reaction would be to look at Albert Pujols to pick up the slack some. The slugger has been in the news of late, as he is narrowing in on 600 home runs in his legendary career. But any notion of him being able to salvage a potential slide from the Halos is one based more in nostalgia than in fact at this point. The 37-year-old former MVP has hurt more than he has helped this year, producing a -0.1 oWAR, while failing to reach base 30 percent of the time.

Further complicating things is the career-worst performance that Kole Calhoun is having on the year. The usually reliable outfielder is struggling to stay above the Mendoza line on the year, as the career .261 hitter is currently checking in with a .205 mark in 2017. His .288 on-base percentage is 50 points lower than his 2016 showing, and he is on pace for career-lows in home runs, RBI and OPS.

And for those that are still hazy on exactly what WAR represents and how to visualize its significance, take no further of a look at who will replace Trout: Ben Revere. In Revere’s eight-year career, his lifetime WAR is lower than Trout’s 2016 total. In an immediate sense, utilizing Revere in an everyday role will put a player into their regular lineup that lowers their win potential by 1.3 games already and whose everyday presence will now force the team to deploy three outfielders that have a collective .223 batting average on the year. Ouch.

Picking up the pieces will be tough for an underwhelming Angels club. There are few teams in baseball that are as star driven as the Angels are, who are built more in the NBA model than what works in the MLB. Baseball is far from a one-man sport, but Trout was defying that logic thus far. But now, a man who had never missed more than five games since his full-time promotion will see the disabled list for the first time in his career, and the Angels will face a stark reality that they have been able to avoid thus far: They are a team without a pulse without their star.

In some cases, there can be optimism in loss. But in the case of the loss of Trout –especially his current incarnation— there are no winners. Not the Angels or the Anaheim faithful, but also baseball, as its most remarkable talent has been lost at his absolute best.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.