Mike Trout Injury: Updates on Angels Star's Back and Return

Updates from Thursday, June 5

MLB Lineups reports Mike Trout is back in the Angels' lineup:

Updates from Wednesday, June 4

Mike Trout is not in the Angels' lineup, the team announced:

Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com and Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register pass along information on Trout's MRI:

Gonzalez provides comments from Trout and information on the Angels' star's status:

"

Said Trout: “It’s definitely good news.”

Trout was out of the lineup on Wednesday and said he’s “not going to do much today, probably just go throw and see if I can hit in the cage.”

“I’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” Trout said. “Maybe I’ll go tomorrow."

[...]

"If I don’t feel it at all, I’ll play,” Trout said. “I just have to be smart about it.

It was bothering me yesterday during the game, and I was pretty happy I woke up and it wasn’t worse. That’s always a good thing.

"

Manager Mike Scioscia was asked about the possibility of placing Trout on the DL. Gonzalez has his answer: 

Updates from Tuesday, June 3

After returning, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports that Trout has left the game:

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register had more:

MLB Lineups confirmed Mike Trout's return to the Angels' lineup after dealing with an ailing back:

Updates from Sunday, June 1

Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports Mike Trout is not in the Angels' lineup:

Gonzalez passes along comments from Trout:

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported that Trout was available late in the Angels' 6-3 loss to the A's on Sunday:

Gonzalez previously reported Trout was expected to play:

Original Text:

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout was removed from the lineup for Saturday night's game against the Oakland Athletics as a result of back stiffness, per Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com:

Trout was originally set to DH but has since been replaced by C.J. Cron:

So far this year, Trout has failed to match the stratospheric heights he reached during his first two full seasons in the league.

His batting average has dropped from .323 at the end of 2013 to .294. His on-base and slugging percentages have also decreased slightly to .380 and .549, respectively. Trout's strikeout percentage has also risen, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

Ryan Parker of Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) identified slight tweaks in Trout's swing as the biggest reason for his regression.

However, it's likely only a matter of time before Trout irons out the issues in his swing and is back to his old self. He didn't get to this level without being able to adapt when necessary.

Since this injury doesn't appear to be too serious, the 22-year-old shouldn't be on the shelf for too long.