Mike Trout injury: Angels not planning on shutting down superstar despite extended absence

Trout hasn't played since May 17 due to a slow-to-heal calf injury

The date was May 17 when Angels superstar Mike Trout went down with a calf injury. The initial prognosis was that he'd be back in six-to-eight weeks, but Trout has suffered a setback and the Angels say the injury is healing very slowly. Still, they won't be shutting him down and hope to have him back this season. 

"My policy with any player is we go day-to-day and communicate," general manager Perry Minasian said (via Associated Press). "From our end, we will not rush him. We want him to feel good about how his calf feels and to play at his level when he does come back."

If Trout heals and wants to get back on the field, which as a competitor he surely does, there's no reason to prevent him from doing so. On the team end, Trout is a big draw. Sure, they also have Shohei Ohtani, but adding Trout to the mix just makes the Angels all the more attractive to watch, even if they aren't necessarily contenders (they entered Wednesday 10 1/2 games out in the AL West and 7 1/2 games out in the wild card). 

Also, the point made by manager Joe Maddon to the AP makes sense as well. 

"You want to go into those offseason months knowing that, 'Hey, I played again, I felt good, everything's fine,'" Maddon said. "So that's always part of it, too."

Trout, 30, was having another monster season before the injury. He was hitting .333/.466/.624 with eight doubles, eight homers, 18 RBI, 23 runs, two steals and 1.9 WAR in just 36 games.