Angels' Shohei Ohtani has elbow tear again!
Shohei Ohtani is no doubt the biggest baseball star today and was at this moment setting an example of everything right in sports. The two way superstar is setting stats so elite that word is that he's on pace to break free agency becoming the sports first half billion dollar player.
But now the future is on hold, and his contract looks to be also as he has a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will not pitch again this season, Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian said Wednesday night in Anaheim, California, a shocking twist in the lead-up to arguably the most highly anticipated free agency in baseball history.
Ohtani exited his start in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds earlier Wednesday after recording just four outs and throwing only 26 pitches. A subsequent MRI revealed the tear, though Minasian said he did not know the severity of it. Ohtani nonetheless insisted on serving as the designated hitter in Game 2, ultimately going 1-for-5 in the Angels' 7-3 loss, and will seek secondary opinions to determine his next step.
One option, of course, is a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow the same one done in October 2018 and one that would keep him off the mound for the entirety of the 2024 season. This is best case for him health wise but this development would significantly affect a free agent sweepstakes that many expected to yield like I said a $500-plus million contract.
"As far as plans and details, I don't have those yet," Minasian said at Angel Stadium. "I've been in contact with his representation. Obviously he hit the second game. He's played with this, in '18, but with that being said we'll take it day by day and see where it goes. Obviously disappointing news. I feel terrible for him. But it is what it is. If anybody can bounce back, it's him."
"He had cramps, he was dehydrated, but today is the day. He came out of the game and said, 'Hey, I've got pain in the elbow area.' It's the first day we've heard of any type of pain."
And in 2023, he looks like the easy favorite again even with the Angels once again out of the playoff picture, and even with another UCL tear ruling him out as a pitcher for the final six weeks.
The Angels still don't know whether Ohtani will hit the rest of this season. "We're going to go day to day and just see how it goes, see how he feels," Minasian said.
"I think as we get more information, as far as recovery time and all those types of things, we'll have more information down the road."
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