Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian shared some major news regarding Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night.
Ohtani has a tear in his UCL and will not pitch again this season, Minasian revealed.
Ohtani had taken a week off between pitching starts due to what the team called arm fatigue. He then attempted to pitch in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday between his Angels and the Cincinnati Reds. Ohtani’s velocity was down, and during the second inning, he signaled to the dugout. Ohtani was removed from the start after just 1.1 innings pitched. He also was replaced as a hitter and did not take his next scheduled at-bat.
In between games of the doubleheader, Ohtani underwent imaging. According to Minasian, the testing revealed the UCL tear. Minasian also said that Ohtani was complaining of pain in his elbow when he exited his start. That was the first time Ohtani has mentioned pain in his arm.
Minasian said that the Angels are in touch with Ohtani’s representatives about the matter. Ohtani will get a second medical opinion, but the two-way star will not pitch again this season. The team did not say anything about whether Ohtani will continue to bat. Minasian noted that despite receiving the injury news, the Japanese star still was determined to play in the second game of the doubleheader. He went 1-for-5 with a run scored.
As if the news on Ohtani wasn’t a bad enough sign for Angels fans, Minasian revealed that Mike Trout is returning to the injured list due to his wrist. Trout had been activated from the injured list on Tuesday and went 1-for-4, but was feeling pain on Wednesday.
Beyond what the double-whammy news means for the Angels, this has significant consequences for Ohtani. The 29-year-old is in the middle of another MVP campaign, which happened to be perfectly synced with his free agency. Now he could be entering free agency as someone recovering from a surgery.
Recall too that a UCL injury is nothing new for Ohtani. After he signed with the Angels, it was revealed he had a UCL sprain. He pitched in the 2018 season despite the injury, but after it got worse, he eventually underwent Tommy John surgery, which led him to miss 2019 as a pitcher and nearly all of 2020 as a pitcher.
