the room and hearing the news with him was tough. Nobody wants to play more. Nobody cares about this building, this fan base, this team more than he does.”

Trout did not speak to reporters, but he released a statement on social media.

“Playing and competing is a huge part of my life,” he wrote. “This is equally as heartbreaking and frustrating for me as it is for you, the fans. I understand that I may have disappointed many, but believe me, I will do everything I can to come back stronger.”

Trout’s teammates and others around him said he’s been distraught in the past couple of days over the development.

“He’s as (ticked) off as anybody and rightfully so,” catcher Logan O’Hoppe said. “This guy can’t catch a break and he takes care of his body. It’s not like he gets hurt and then doesn’t do things the right way behind the scenes. He does everything in his power to prevent that. I think that’s the most frustrating part for him. And I know if I were in those shoes, like I was last year (after suffering a shoulder injury), that was the most frustrating part for sure.”

Minasian was optimistic about Trout returning strong in 2025, going so far as to predict that he’d win his fourth American League MVP award.

He said the Angels will go into the winter planning on Trout having a prominent spot in the 2025 lineup, although he said it’s too early to say if the longtime center fielder will need to move to a corner outfield spot or even DH.

“We’ll get to that further down the line,” Minasian said. “I’m not ready to answer that.”

He also said they would have “contingencies” for Trout’s absence, just as they do for all players.

Trout, who turns 33 in a week, has missed significant time each of the past four seasons. He suffered a strained calf that cost him more than four months in 2021. He had a back injury that kept him out for about five weeks in 2022. Last season, he missed the final three months after suffering a broken hamate bone. This year, he will miss five months with the two tears to his knee.

In all cases except for the back injury, he was out for longer than anticipated.

This injury came with an expected timeline of one to two months, and Trout was heading toward a return just less than three months after surgery. He got as far as playing a game at Triple-A Salt Lake last week.

Trout played two innings, but then came out because he said he felt something in his knee. He returned to Southern California and underwent an MRI exam on Thursday. Trout said it showed just inflammation and scar tissue, and he would be running again “any day.”

He did not resume running over the weekend. On Monday night, he called Minasian from home and told him that the pain was suddenly worse than it had been.

Trout had another MRI on Wednesday, and the second tear was revealed.

There’s no indication that Trout did any type of baseball workouts between the two MRIs, so it’s unclear what happened.

“There’s no event,” Minasian said. “This is not somebody that was out playing one-on-one basketball. This guy is committed to getting back. I know everybody is ‘What happened? Why?’ I get it. I have the same questions.”