Angels’ Ohtani’s arm sore, may miss rest of season as pitcher
The LA Angels will miss the pitching services of Shohei Ohtani at Friday’s game due to a sore arm that could keep him from the mound the rest of the season.
The 2018 Rookie of the Year was playing catch on Wednesday when he started feeling the pain in his right arm.
Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon said that if the pain persists, Ohtani will not pitch for the team during their Friday game against the Chicago White Sox, according to the Associated Press.
Maddon said that during a meeting, they discussed the chances that Ohtani will be sidelined for the rest of the season as a pitcher if the arm’s state does not improve. But the manager says that at the moment there are no plans for the likely AL MVP to be medically evaluated.
Ohtani to continue as designated hitter
The arm soreness will not stop Ohtani from pursuing his goal of getting the home run title. He merited an All-Star bid as a pitcher as well as a designated hitter two months ago, and he will likely continue as a designated hitter for the team.
The 27-year-old is ranked second in the major leagues with 44 home runs, tied with Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez and behind Toronto Blue Jays hitter Vladimir Guerrero who has 45.
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Ohtani no longer pitch-perfect
Ohtani has encountered difficulties as a pitcher recently, allowing 12 earned runs in his last three starts. It has not been established if his performance was affected by the arm soreness.
He hasn’t been on the mound since Sept. 10, during the game where he hit his 44th homerun, but where he was also tagged for six runs in their loss to the Houston Astros.