The Angels are activating outfielder from the injured list, reports . Trout tells that hes still sore but felt time was running out as the end of the season draws closer. The Angels have now officially announced the move, with outfielder optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. Trout, 32, had his season interrupted in early July by Bryan Lavastida Jersey a left hamate fracture that required surgery to correct. At that time, the estimated timeline for his absence was given as four to eight weeks. He now returns in the midst of that window but, as mentioned, hes not yet at 100% health. Despite losing Trout, the Angels ended up treading water in July, going 12-11 and staying in the playoff race. That was enough to convince the club to not only take off the trade market but also make aggre sive upgrades, acquiring players like , , and others, as well as promoting just a few weeks after drafting him. Unfortunately, August has been a nightmare for the club, as they have gone 5-13 and are now nine games out of a playoff spot. As Trout himself acknowledged, time is running short for the Angels to take advantage of the Trout-Ohtani combo, with the latter set to reach free agency in a couple of months. The playoff odds at FanGraphs give them just a 0.5% chance of making the postseason and that narrowing window seems to have spurred Trout to return quicker than he might have otherwise done. Despite having two of the best players in the world on the same team, the Angels havent finished above .500 since 2015 and havent made it to the playoffs since 2014. The club will be hoping that the return of Trout to the lineup can spur a miraculous late-season charge in the final few weeks. Prior to the surgery, he was hitting .263/.369/.493 for a wRC+ of 136. That indicates he was 36% above the league average hitter but thats actually a significant drop-off relative to his own standards. He hasnt had a wRC+ lower than 160 since his 40-game debut as a teenager in 2011. Though even if he can get back to that le ser level of production, he will provide a ma sive boost to the club for the stretch run. Brandon Guyer Jersey