Angels’ Mike Trout dealing with rare back condition

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The timetable for Mike Trout’s return is not getting any clearer with each passing day.

Angels head athletic trainer Mike Frostad said Wednesday that Trout is improving, but he still has at least a week to go before feeling the full benefits of the cortisone injection he received last week. In the meantime, he will continue to work on core stability and do cardio workouts, without any baseball activity.

Trout’s injury was first diagnosed as back spasms when he left a game July 12. A week later, when the Angels placed him on the injured list, they announced it was rib cage inflammation. Frostad explained that the muscle spasms around the inflammation to protect it. Frostad said it’s technically a “costovertebral dysfunction at T5.”

“This is a pretty rare condition that he has right now in his back,” Frostad said. “(Dr. Robert Watkins), one of the most well-known spine surgeons in the country, if not the world, doesn’t see a lot of these. For it to happen in a baseball player, 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. And there’s so many things that can aggravate it, but this doctor hasn’t seen a lot of it. And he’s one of the best in the country.”

Asked if Trout could miss the rest of the season, Frostad said: “We hope not. I don’t think we’re at a point where we’re going to make that decision. He’s going to have a follow-up here once we get back, and we’ll just kind of see what the doctor thinks at that point. But that really hasn’t been a discussion that we’ve had.”

Frostad added that the Angels will need to keep an eye on this indefinitely.

“Long-term, we do have to look at this as something that he has to manage not just through the rest of this season, but also through the rest of his career, probably,” Frostad said.

Despite all of that, Frostad said Trout is improving.

“He’s a little bit more upbeat today,” Frostad said. “He’s starting to feel like he’s getting the benefits.”

Trout has been traveling with the team, but he has not spoken to the media since last week at the All-Star Game. He spent much of Tuesday in the indoor batting cage, watching his teammates hit.

“He’s been a great teammate,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “He’s been the dugout, helping out his teammates… He’s obviously a good sounding board for a lot of young players. For them to have him here and know that he’s supporting them is huge, I’m sure, for some younger guys.”

WARREN DOWN

The Angels sent down right-hander Austin Warren to create a roster spot for Janson Junk, who started Wednesday.

Warren had a 5.63 ERA in 16 innings this season, working around two stints on the injured list. He suffered a broken nose when he was hit by a ball during batting practice in May and he had a right triceps strain in June. Last year, Warren had a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 innings.

“He’s a good big-league pitcher and we’ve got to get him back to where he where he was when he was right,” Nevin said. “He understood it. He’s going to go down and work as he has each time and we expect to see him back at some point.”

NOTES

Outfielder Jo Adell was not in the lineup Wednesday because his arm was “stiff” after he was hit in the elbow by a pitch Tuesday night, Nevin said. …

Infielder David Fletcher (hip surgery) “is feeling great,” as he nears the end of his rehab assignment, Frostad said. Fletcher will rejoin the Angels Thursday in Anaheim. …

Right-hander Jimmy Herget (shoulder impingement) is scheduled to make another rehab appearance Friday. Herget has pitched two innings in two outings for Double-A Rocket City so far. …

Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (shoulder strain) has resumed his throwing program, Frostad said. The Angels are hoping to get him out on a rehab assignment soon…

Infielder Michael Stefanic ran his slump to 0-for-24 on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Shohei Ohtani, 9-5, 2.80) vs. Rangers (RHP Spencer Howard, 1-2, 7.11), 6:38 p.m. Thursday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM