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MLB Notebook: Mike Trout out for the season after second meniscus tear
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Brett Holden
Aug 3, 2024, 06:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 3, 2024, 17:08 EDT
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Mike Trout out for the season after second meniscus tear

Mike Trout will once again finish his season on the injured list as his return from a meniscus tear is halted with a second tear in the same knee. Similar to the first one, there was no clear moment the injury occurred, but after only two innings of his rehab appearance in Triple-A Salt Lake, Trout would be removed from the game and underwent an MRI in Anaheim.
The initial results came back clean with no apparent tear. However, after returning home to rest, Trout felt serious pain in his knee again on Monday where he would undergo another MRI. That test showed a tear in the knee, the exact type of injury he was already trying to recover from. The tear will require surgery and will end Trout’s season early once again.
Since 2021, Mike Trout has played 41 games in the second half of a season out of a possible 324. 40 of those games came in 2022. In that time, Trout has suffered a calf injury in May that sidelined him for the rest of the 2021 season, a rib injury that kept him out for a month in 2022, two separate stints that eventually ended his 2023 season with a wrist issue after reaggravating the injury three days after his return, and now this meniscus tear.
In his first nine full seasons in the MLB Trout only missed 144 games in a possible 1356, playing in 89% of Angels games. Since then, he has played in 266 of 595, 44% of Halos games. The back half of Mike Trout’s career has been filled with nothing but pain and disappointment.
Heading into the season, rumours swirled around Trout on whether he would ask for a trade away from the Angels after Shohei Ohtani left for the Dodgers. Trout stood by his guns and said a trade is “the easy way out.”
But now, after yet another injury that has cut his season way too short, the discourse has returned. With another disappointing season in Orange County, should Mike Trout move on from the Halos?
The Angels have one of the worst farm systems and prospect pipelines in baseball today, have only made the postseason once since Trout made his debut, and have failed to surround their stars with competent depth pieces to make their team a contender. They tied themselves to the pole with a massive contract for a player who doesn’t even like playing baseball, one of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball in the last six years, and have employed only one other player who has hit over 100 homers as an Angel since 2018… Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani and Trout have both hit over 170 bombs as Halos in that time. The next closest? Justin Upton and Taylor Ward with 68.
The Angels have failed Mike Trout on and off the diamond, and now, after getting healthy, might be the perfect time to move on.

The Yankees were close to acquiring Jack Flaherty but had concerns about his health

The New York Yankees entered the MLB Trade Deadline looking to be active to bolster the lineup down the stretch. After acquiring Jazz Chisholm from the Marlins earlier in the week, the Yanks continued to stay in the race for Tigers starter, Jack Flaherty.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, they would lose the race for the righty right at the horn, as Flaherty would return to his hometown Dodgers in a trade that would underwhelm most. The Tigers would net the Dodgers No. 8 prospect in catcher Thayron Liranzo and No. 22 prospect shortstop Trey Sweeney. Many would squabble at the return considering what the Houston Astros gave up for a starter with an ERA two runs higher than Flaherty, while also questioning why the Yankees didn’t offer something more lucrative to the Tigers.
Flaherty has had a complete rejuvenation in the Motor City this season, sitting in the top 10 in the American League in ERA, strikeouts, and batting average, plus third in WHIP with a 0.96. On top of it, he’s also been an analytic darling, sitting in the 89th percentile or higher in four major pitching categories: xERA, Whiff%, Chase%, and BB%. A stark contrast from his 19th percentile xERA, 44th percentile Whiff%, 12th percentile chase%, and 23rd percentile BB% in 2023.
However, the Bronx Bombers have been closer to acquiring the biggest fish in the Trade Deadline market ahead of the Dodgers, until it hit a snag. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees backed out of a “preliminary trade agreement” with the Tigers over concerns with his medical records.
The right-hander has received back injections twice since the start of July due to a back issue due to a back issue which made him miss a start on July 3rd. But Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he still wanted to acquire Flaherty but was unable to match Detroit’s demands.
“I would have brought Jack Flaherty in if I could have matched up.”
That did not go over well with social media. Compared to what Yusei Kikuchi was acquired for from the Blue Jays and what the Tigers actually received, it seems like Cashman could’ve found a happy middle there, right? The Yankees had already traded three prospects that day who all landed on the Cubs and Padres top 30.
Now, the Yankees did back out of the initial agreement, but they did continue to discuss trade proposals with Detroit at a cheaper price.
In the end, Flaherty goes to the Dodgers and the Yankees settle for relief help in Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos. The Yankees would also hold onto Nestor Cortes despite speculation he was being shopped around the Deadline plus they expect Clarke Schmidt to return soon as well. 

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