MLB Injury report: Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton, Jacob deGrom, Druw Jones
A roundup of some of the biggest injuries from around the MLB, with two All-Stars out, the return of a great, and a prospect just getting started
Mike Trout is the second-highest paid baseball player ever, and perhaps the best player who ever lived. But when he exited the Houston game on July 12 with back spasms, and went on the IL a week later with rib cage inflammation, it kick started a series of checks that have led to him being diagnosed with a rare spinal condition called costovertebral dysfunction at the T5 disc.
Dr. Robert Watkins III, a top back specialist and the co-director of the Marina Spine Clinic in Los Angeles examined the Los Angeles Angels All-Star center fielder and said that it is a rare condition to see, especially in a professional athlete.
Trout was more sanguine about it though. “I got back and my phone was blowing up: ‘My career is over,’” he laughed. “It’s just rare for a baseball player. I just have to stay on top of it.”
Los Angeles Angels trainer Mike Frostad doesn’t foresee this as a major obstacle to Trout’s or the Angels’ season, saying, “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.”
With the Angels sitting in fourth place in the AL West, 21.5 games adrift, there is little point in rushing their star back into the lineup.
Over in the AL East, the Yankees are down an All-Star outfielder themselves, with Giancarlo Stanton on the IL for two to three weeks suffering with left Achilles tendonitis. Apparently the diagnosis was made after Stanton felt some pain and requested an MRI from the team medical staff.
The estimate for how long he will be out has been described as “loose” so it could extend further, possibly into September. The Yankees have called up Tim Locastro as a replacement.
Cross-town rivals the NY Mets, have some potential good news on the injury front, with manager Buck Showalter tapping Jacob deGrom for a rehab start sometime in the next week. DeGrom has yet to throw a pitch in the Show this year, out with shoulder issues since last July.
If he can come back with anything like his old form, the Mets will be wielding a formidable cannon on the mound. Before his 2021 season prematurely ended, he sported a 2.08 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ration of 6.92.
One of the star selections of the MLB draft was 18-year-old Druw Jones, picked up by the Diamondbacks number two overall, and signed for a bonus of $8,189,400 last week. In his very first batting practice with the team, he has injured his shoulder, reportedly feeling a “tweak” and being sent for an MRI by the team.
The injury is in his left, non-throwing arm, so any rehab time will be reduced over what it would have been otherwise. While details are sketchy, there are rumblings that he may need surgery, with Zach Buchanan reporting, “The 18-year-old Jones has already undergone medical imaging and will meet with Phoenix-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gary Waslewski on Wednesday to determine the next course of action. [D-Backs farm director Josh] Barfield said ‘it’s too early to say’ whether Jones will be ready for the start of spring training next year.”
ESPN offers a full list of current injuries, broken down team by team. You can check out the full list here.