Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels activated 2018 American League Rookie of the Year ahead of Tuesday's game against the Detroit Tigers.

Ohtani will bat third behind David Fletcher and Mike Trout against Detroit.

The Japanese star has yet to make his 2019 debut after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the offseason. Although the procedure rules out the opportunity for him to pitch for the time being, the 24-year-old will be available to serve as the designated hitter.

Even though the team can't utilize his two-way flexibility, Ohtani's return is desperately needed for a Los Angeles lineup that has generally been poor aside from Trout. According to FanGraphs, the Angels are 18th in weighted on-base average (.313) and 15th in weighted runs created plus (99).

Despite only making 367 plate appearances as a rookie, the 24-year-old was fourth among Angels position players in WAR (2.8) on FanGraphs. The left-handed hitter boasted a .285/.361/.564 slash line along with 22 home runs and 61 RBI.

Entering Tuesday, Los Angeles was 15-19, 5.5 games back of the American League West-leading Houston Astros and 3.5 games off the second wild-card berth. If Ohtani can deliver at the plate like he did in 2018, the Angels might be able to mount a wild-card challenge in the AL.

At the very least, his presence gives fans something else to get excited about along with Trout's quest for a third Most Valuable Player Award.

With a two-run double in the first inning Sunday, Los Angeles Angels star Albert Pujols moved into third place on MLB's all-time RBI list.

Pujols gave the Angels an early 2-0 lead with a ground ball down the third base line off Kansas City Royals starter Homer Bailey.

As a result, the 10-time All-Star passed Barry Bonds, with only 89 RBI separating him from Alex Rodriguez in second place.

Hank Aaron is the RBI king, driving in 2,297 runs over his Hall of Fame career. Pujols' chances of chasing down Aaron will likely depend on whether the Angels are willing to make him an everyday member of their starting lineup.

Pujols is under contract for two more years, earning $59 million. Getting 300 more RBI won't be easy for the 39-year-old, but it is attainable if he appears in 140-plus games in 2020 and 2021.

Regardless of where he ultimately lands on the RBI list, Pujols will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he's eligible for enshrinement in Cooperstown, New York.

Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols has once again put his name among the greatest ever to play the sport.

With a third-inning double in Saturday's game against the Seattle Mariners, Pujols tied Babe Ruth for the fifth-most RBI in baseball history, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).

He would later hit a solo home run to pass Ruth:

The 39-year-old now has 1,993 RBI in his career, which just passes Ruth's mark of 1,992 beginning in 1920 when the category became an official stat.

According to Baseball Reference, Ruth would have 2,214 RBI over the course of his career, which began in 1914. This would put him in second place behind only Hank Aaron with 2,297 RBI.

Still, Pujols has a chance to continue to climb the rest of the list in short order.

Lou Gehrig (1,995) and Barry Bonds (1,996) are next up, giving the Angels star a chance to move into third place within the next few days or weeks. As long as he stays healthy, he should become only the third person with 2,000 official RBI after Aaron and Alex Rodriguez.

Considering he has also climbed up to sixth on the all-time home run list with 635 in his career, it's clear this is one of the best hitters in baseball history.

Pujols has had a relatively slow start to the 2019 season, entering Saturday hitting .224 and two home runs in 19 games. However, he is only two years removed from topping 100 RBI in 2017 and remains a big piece of the Angels offense this season.

Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani will take batting practice with the team for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October.

Fabian Ardaya‏ of The Athletic reported the news.

Ohtani will not pitch during the 2019 season but is expected to return as a hitter at some point. The righty went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.16 WHIP on the mound and hit .285/.361/.564 with 22 home runs and 61 runs batted in as a hitter. 

"As a player, I think it's natural to try to get back as quickly as possible," Ohtani told reporters earlier this month. "That's how I'm feeling right now. But it's not up to me; it's up to the team. I know they're trying to be very careful with me."

General manager Billy Eppler told reporters Tuesday that Ohtani will complete his rehab with the team with at-bats against live pitching.

“We’re gonna work it in a progression,” Eppler said. “It’s not just without any kind of parameters or restrictions.”

Ohtani will serve as a designated hitter when he returns to the lineup. Albert Pujols has been the team's primary designated hitter this season and will move back to first base when Ohtani returns. 

The Los Angeles Angels will get quite the boost for Monday's game against the Texas Rangers.

Mike Trout will hit second as the designated hitter for the series opener between the two American League West teams after missing nearly a week with a groin injury. Ben Weinrib of Yahoo Sports noted he suffered a strained groin in Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers while he was running the bases and hasn't played since he was removed from that contest.

Los Angeles elected not to put Trout on the injured list, which worked out well considering Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs was canceled for weather. The team was also off Thursday, meaning the Angels were without their best player for a mere three games and went 2-1.

Trout is well on his way to Hall of Fame status at 27 years old with two American League MVPs, an AL Rookie of the Year, seven All-Star appearances and six Silver Sluggers on his resume.

The Angels' only realistic hope at contending in the AL West this season is having him healthy and anchoring the lineup, and he wasted little time making an impact in 2019. He slashed .406/.592/.938 with five home runs and 12 RBI in his first 12 games.

Los Angeles is 8-7 and 3.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the division in the season's early going and now has its primary weapon back as it looks to make up ground with its the next seven games against AL West foes.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout remains sidelined by a right groin strain. The Angels announced Friday that tests showed a "reduced amount of swelling," and Trout will be reevaluated Sunday.

Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group noted this means Trout won't play until at least Monday.

The 27-year-old left the Angels' game against the Milwaukee Brewers with a right groin strain April 9 and was listed as day-to-day.

Trout has missed extended periods of time the previous two years. Last season, he sat out 19 games in August because of a wrist injury.

The summer prior, Trout was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career when he underwent surgery to repair a UCL tear in his left thumb. The injury happened when he slid into second base May 28.

Trout returned to the lineup July 14.

In March, Trout signed a 12-year extension worth more than $430 million. The seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger winner gave the Angels every reason to lock him down for a decade-plus. The star player has led the American League in runs (2012-14, 2016), RBI (2014), stolen bases (2012) and on-base percentage (2016-18), among other categories.

So far in 2019, Trout has hit for a .406 batting average with five home runs and 12 RBI across 12 games.

The Angels, who have yet to win a postseason series since Trout's 2011 debut, are 7-6 and in third place in the AL West.

The Los Angeles Angels announced center fielder Mike Trout was removed from Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers with a right groin strain and is considered day-to-day.  

After the game, Trout told reporters he was feeling better but said he would return only when he was fully healed.

"After talking to doctors, it was a pretty good thing I came out. I just have to get it right, and when it is 100 percent, I will play," Trout said.

Trout has been MLB's gold standard since he became a full-time player for the Angels in 2012. His stacked career resume already includes seven All-Star selections, six Silver Slugger Awards and two American League MVPs, among numerous other accolades.

The 27-year-old New Jersey native remained mostly durable during his rise to stardom, appearing in at least 157 games for four straight seasons starting in 2013. He sat out six weeks of action in 2017 because of a thumb injury, though. He also missed a little time last year with wrist inflammation.

If the latest ailment forces him out of the lineup, Peter Bourjos can shift to center while Brian Goodwin plays left. Goodwin is also capable of playing center, as well. 

But there's simply no way for the Angels to replace Trout's production with reserves. Albert Pujols, Andrelton Simmons and Kole Calhoun will be under more pressure to carry the offense until he's able to return.

Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus announced Friday that left fielder Justin Upton is expected to miss 8-12 weeks with a turf toe, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.

He had already began the year on the injured list due to the injury, although there was initially no timetable for a return.

Before this injury, Upton had been durable and appeared in at least 145 games in each of the past eight seasons.

He is a consistent source of power in the Los Angeles lineup and drilled 30 home runs last season. He was striving to pass the 25-homer mark for the seventh season in a row, although the latest news could put this steak in jeopardy. 

Fortunately for the Angels, they have other pieces who can carry the offensive load while Upton is out. Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Justin Bour are all threats to go deep every at-bat.

Peter Bourjos started Opening Day in left field and could shoulder the load until Upton returns.

While Los Angeles has the pieces to survive a three-month setback to its powerful outfielder, it could use him healthy and back in the lineup as it strives to reach the postseason from the American League West.

After he spent seven seasons establishing himself as the best player in Major League Baseball, Mike Trout faced a new sort of pressure during the Los Angeles Angels' season opener against the Oakland Athletics. 

In his first game since signing a record $426.5 million deal on March 19, Trout went 1-for-3 with an eighth-inning single and one walk in the Angels' 4-0 loss.  

This was a rough day for the Angels and Trout, who got a nice-looking burn on his leg while sliding into second base in the eighth:

Trout told Scott Van Pelt in an interview on SportsCenter he understands people will always bring up his contract in the context of what he does on the field:

Nothing about the Angels' lineup inspired any confidence Thursday, but one game doesn't define a season. That's the magic of baseball.

How can any player justify signing the biggest contract in professional sports during a single outing? 

Not even a player as great as Trout has been—and will continue to be—is capable of doing that. Even if he went 4-for-4 with four grand slams, someone would inevitably shout about him only reaching the postseason once in his career to this point. 

Trout will continue his quest to get the Angels back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. 

One reason the Los Angeles Angels were able to lock up Mike Trout for essentially the rest of his career stems from the long offseason for a number of top free agents this winter.

Speaking to reporters, Trout specifically cited Manny Machado and Bryce Harper as reasons he chose to re-sign with the Angels despite having two years remaining on his previous contract:

"If we hadn't gotten a deal done it would have been tough for me. I obviously wanted to be here. I said I want to deal with it now. If not I'm going to explore free agency. I didn't want to go through the next few seasons thinking 'Am I going to get a deal or not?'

"I kind of saw what Bryce and Manny went through and it drew a red flag for me. I talked to Manny and Bryce. It was a tough couple months in the offseason. They put it perspective in my mind. I obviously want to be an Angel for life. That was a big key.

"I think if I waited two years, it wouldn't have felt right moving to another team, going straight to a winning team. Teams go through ups and down. I want to be a part of everything. Obviously I want to win."

The Angels officially announced Trout's 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension Sunday after the two sides finalized terms last week.

The long wait for Machado and Harper to sign became an ongoing topic throughout Major League Baseball during the offseason.

Both players eventually secured massive long-term contracts from the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively. Harper briefly held the MLB record with a $330 million commitment over 13 years from the Phillies, per Spotrac.

Trout's deal surpassed Harper's to become not only the richest contract in MLB history but also the most lucrative in all of professional sports.

Even with Trout cashing in on a deal that will take care of his family for generations to come, it's not a great look for MLB to have its best player publicly talk about being concerned what free agency might have been like for him after 2020.

The Angels will certainly be happy to have Trout around for the next 12 years. He's already established himself as one of the greatest players in MLB history at 27 years old with two American League MVP awards and seven All-Star appearances in each of his seven full seasons.