Shohei Ohtani was placed on the disabled list last week with a sprained ligament in his elbow, and Los Angeles Angels fans should be preparing themselves for the worst.
ESPN’s Pedro Gomez said on “SportsCenter” early Monday morning that Ohtani is likely going to require Tommy John surgery. And if he does undergo the procedure, the 23-year-old would miss the remainder of the 2018 season and possibly the entire 2019 season.
“Everything I’m hearing is that the reality is, he probably will need Tommy John surgery,” @pedrogomezESPN reports grim news for Shohei Ohtani and @Angels just now on @sportscenter. “The earliest we might see him, should he have TJ surgery, would be the 2020 season.”
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) June 11, 2018
That would obviously be the worst case scenario, and it would be incredibly deflating for the Angels after Ohtani emerged as a rare two-way star. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that Ohtani has been hitting the ball well and is still very young. Even if he were unable to return to form as a pitcher, he would still have a bright future ahead of him.
The Angels have only said that Ohtani will miss at least a few weeks and that they are hopeful he will not need surgery.
