The Los Angeles Angels’ attempts to rehab Shohei Ohtani’s UCL injury appear to have failed.
The team announced Wednesday that Ohtani has new damage to his UCL, and the team has recommended Tommy John surgery for the superstar rookie.
#Angels say Shohei Ohtani has new damage to his UCL ligament and Tommy John surgery has been recommended.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) September 5, 2018
It is the worst possible news for the Angels. Ohtani started Sunday and had a clear velocity drop, even though the team wasn’t publicly concerned. It looks like that was a clear indicator that something was wrong and needed to be addressed now.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the Angels can get Ohtani into surgery as quickly as possible. If that happens, barring setbacks, he should be ready to return and pitch again for the start of the 2020 season. He concludes his rookie season with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts, plus 16 home runs.
