It was supposed to be just yet another All-Star Game for Angels superstar Mike Trout and a memorable first one for Tommy La Stella to celebrate a surprising breakout season. But it all changed last week with the death of Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs at 27 years old on Monday. La Stella also suffered a fractured right tibia last Tuesday that will keep him out of action for eight-to-10 weeks. Then, to add to an already tough week, catcher Jonathan Lucroy suffered a concussion and a fractured nose after the Astros’ Jake Marisnick collided into him in a controversial play that was still a talking point around the league on Monday.

But Trout, elected as the starting center fielder for the American League team for a club-record seventh time, said that it’s important for him to be at the festivities in Cleveland this week, and that he plans to honor Skaggs in the All-Star Game.

• All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: Today, 4:30 p.m. PT on FOX

Trout and Skaggs were both selected by the Angels in the 2009 Draft and were close friends. They played in the Minors together and alongside each other with the Angels since 2016. Trout didn’t say what he had planned just yet, but it’s expected to be a special tribute.

"Getting selected to the All-Star Game means a lot, but what we've been going through the last couple days, it's been tough,” Trout said. “It's going to be me and Tommy and obviously Tommy can't play but we're going to keep playing for [Skaggs]. That's the mentality I have and what this team has. He's always looking over us."

Trout, an eight-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP Award winner, is working on another MVP-caliber season, having hit six homers over his final five games heading into the break. He finished the first half of the regular season batting .301/.453/.646 for an AL-best 1.098 OPS, with 28 homers, 67 RBIs, 71 runs and eight stolen bases in 87 games. He was the leading vote-getter among all MLB players.

“This is No. 8 for me and it’s gone by so fast,” Trout said. “It’s a great experience, it’s a great couple days. I can’t thank the fans enough for voting. All-Star week is for the fans. They enjoy watching the best on the field. And to have Tommy here is pretty cool. I feel ready and I feel good and it’s going to be special.”

La Stella, meanwhile, wasn’t with the club in Houston over the weekend, but he will also take part in the All-Star Game festivities as a reward for his breakout season that few people saw coming. La Stella, 30, hit .300/.353/.495 with 16 homers and 44 RBIs in 78 games after entering the season with 10 career homers in 396 career games with the Braves and Cubs. He led all second basemen in the All-Star Game primary voting and was one of three finalists competing to start at second base, only to see the Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu get elected as a starter. But he was voted in as a reserve by the players.

"I wanted to take it in and get the experience,” La Stella said. “Everyone I talked to said you gotta go and take in the experience. It's pretty special. Just to be here among the best players in the game was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."

Angels manager Brad Ausmus, who made his only All-Star appearance in 1999 as a 30-year-old catcher with the Tigers, helped convince La Stella to go to the Midsummer Classic.

“He deserved it. He earned it,” Ausmus said. “He won’t be able to play, but he gets to enjoy all the festivities surrounding the game, watch the Home Run Derby and [enjoy] any of the parties that he can go to. MLB does a nice job of treating the players very well. He’d regret it if he didn’t go experience it.”

After suffering the injury, La Stella said he’d think about whether he’d attend for roughly 24 hours and come to a decision. But after talking with Ausmus, La Stella decided to take part in the festivities instead of going home to New Jersey to rest and see family.

“He was in between,” Ausmus said. “He’s a pretty humble guy, and he felt like he might be in the way with his crutches and he didn’t want to be a bother. I, hopefully, convinced him that that was not the case at all.”

The All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.