LOS ANGELES — Mike Trout had good news for baseball fans and bad news for Angels fans during his All-Star Game media session on Monday.

Just after the Angels announced that Trout was going on the injured list with rib cage inflammation, which means he will miss at least the first three games of the second half, Trout said that he’s decided to play in the World Baseball Classic next spring.

The WBC will begin in March, with Team USA playing its first games in Phoenix, which makes it convenient for Trout. The championship game will be played in Miami.

“I’m excited,” Trout said. “It means a lot. I missed an opportunity the first time and I knew this was a chance I can’t miss.”

Meanwhile, he will continue to miss games because of the discomfort he feels in the back of his rib cage when he swings a bat. The injured had been called back spasms before the Angels gave it a more specific description for the transaction on Monday.

Trout came out of Tuesday’s game and was not in the lineup for any of the last four games before the All-Star break. He was in the lineup for Saturday’s game, but he didn’t feel right when he was taking some swings before the game, so he was scratched.

Now, the Angels have gone one step further by putting him on the injured list. He would be eligible on Monday, the first game of the Angels’ series in Kansas City.

“I wanted to wait till Friday (in Atlanta) to see how I felt, but the right decision is to get it right and then come back,” Trout said, adding that this “is really day by day.”

Trout said this is nothing like last year’s calf injury, which kept him out for more than four months after it was supposed to keep him out for two to three months.

“It’s definitely not as serious as the calf,” Trout said. “I’m not worried about that. I’ve got a few days now with the All-Star break to let it calm down and see how it feels. It’s frustrating for sure. I can’t really pinpoint what caused it. It just started to bother me. Just one of those things. Unfortunate.”

As for the WBC, Trout opted against playing in 2013 and 2017, but this time the general manager for Team USA is former Angels general manager Tony Reagins.

Reagins, who was the GM when Trout was drafted and came to the big leagues, said the three-time American League MVP was his first phone call as he started building the team.

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“I know who he is, as a player as a human being,” Reagins said. “I know how he’s gonna represent our country, which is why we’re doing this. And I know he knows guys too.”

Trout said he’s already using the All-Star Game to recruit other players for Team USA.

NOTES

The Angels claimed infielder Phil Gosselin on waivers, bringing back a player who spent 2021 with the team. Gosselin hit .261 with a .553 OPS with the Atlanta Braves this season. He hit .297 with an .830 OPS at Triple-A. Gosselin has options. The Angels had a vacant spot on the 40-man roster after they designated outfielder Monte Harrison for assignment last week. …

The Angels selected eight college players on the second day of the draft, including two-way player Dylan Phillips from Kansas State. They took hard-throwing Tennessee right-hander Ben Joyce with their third-round pick. They also took pitchers with their fourth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks. Last year, the Angels famously took 20 pitchers with their 20 picks.