Shohei Ohtani’s agent declares that he will require elbow surgery. How long will he be out and will he play for the Los Angeles Angels again?
With the Japanese star’s future now hanging in the balance, his agent has confirmed that he will in fact have to go under the knife in the near future.
Following what was unfortunately a season-ending injury last month, questions weren’t just being asked about when the two-way maestro would play again, but rather where he would play when he does. Let’s get into it.
Shohei Ohtani’s agent confirms star will require surgery
As you might already know, Los Angeles Angels superstar and pending free agent Shohei Ohtani was withdrawn from the pitching roster just last month, after he was diagnosed with a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. Yes, that’s the Tommy John surgery ligament that we all learned about when the San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy tore it during his team’s NFC Championship loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Forgive the digression. What we can now confirm, is that though Ohtani continued to hit - not pitch - it’s now clear that the severity of his elbow injury is acute.
According to the Japanese sensation’s agent, Nez Balelo, it is now “inevitable” that his client will require “some kind of procedure” on his elbow in the future. Indeed, Balelo also stated that the injury is the “best-case scenario” because the original Tommy John ligament is intact, with the tear actually situated in a different location. “Shohei is going to be in somebody’s lineup next year, DH-ing when the bell rings,” Balelo stated. “... Shohei loves to pitch. There’s not a question in his mind that he’s going to come back and continue to do both.”
The low down on Tommy John surgery
By medical standards, the procedure which involves an internal brace is actually quite new and differs from the traditional Tommy John surgery which is used to repair a tear that has occurred close to the bone. Indeed, the aforementioned internal brace procedure is significantly less invasive than Tommy John surgery, and as such understandably results in a shorter recovery time. With that said, it is still lengthy so we can expect to see Ohtani undergo a long layoff when he finally has the operation.
To that end, Ohtani will likely not be on the mound when the next season rolls around, something that Balelo also implied as he indicated that best case scenario Ohtani might be able to pitch later in the season, but certainly not at the start. On the other hand, he will be expected to continue to hit just as he did in 2019, following his first Tommy John surgery in October of 2018. Incidentally, Ohtani also has other injury concerns, after Manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani would undergo tests on Tuesday for what he described as oblique tightness.
So, what does Shohei Ohtani’s future hold?
That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Both literally and figuratively. What we do know is that Ohtani has made it clear that he wants to sign with a contender this offseason and with all due respect, that is not the Los Angeles Angels. Consider for a moment that the team has not registered a single winning season with Ohtani on the roster, and while one can make a case for the disruptive effect that growing player power has on professional sports, that’s borderline unacceptable for a player who is widely considered the best in the game today. The 29-year-old will end his season with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings as a pitcher, and 9 for 30 (.300) in nine games as a hitter since being shut down as a pitcher. Overall he has hit .304/.412/.654 with an American League-leading 44 home runs this season. As for the Angels, they currently sit on a 64-74 record and are 12 games outside of a postseason spot. As we always say, watch this space.