Angels respond to report that Ohtani may need Tommy John surgery
When Shohei Ohtani came to the Major Leagues, the Angels knew there would be challenges.
It’s been a long time since baseball has seen a two-way star, a potentially top-of-the-rotation starter and a slugging hitter all wrapped up in one.
Until now, the biggest question for Los Angeles management was how often Ohtani would play on days that he’s not pitching.
If an ESPN report is correct, though, the Halos have much bigger problems.
ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reported Sunday said that his sources tell him Ohtani is “probably” heading for Tommy John surgery to fix the sprained ligament in his pitching elbow.
The operation could sideline the pitcher/DH for 12-15 months.
After placing him on the disabled list last week, Los Angeles indicated Ohtani would be sidelined for about three weeks with a Grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament.
On Monday, Angels general manager Bill Eppler told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that there had been no changes in Ohtani’s diagnosis, despite the ESPN report.
“There have been no changes in Ohtani’s diagnosis and neither our physicians nor medical staff have recommended (Tommy John surgery) or said it’s likely,” Eppler said.
Is it possible Ohtani will need Tommy John surgery? Yes. Have the Angels made a firm conclusion at this point? No. Ohtani received inections of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells Thursday in Los Angeles. https://t.co/6ykedflERp
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 11, 2018
And Angels manager Mike Scioscia said during an interview on CBS Sports HQ with Bill Reiter that as far as he is aware, the Angels are not considering Tommy John surgery for Ohtani.
“I have not heard that,” Scioscia said.
“The doctors are obviously very confident that he’s going to get back out there,” Scioscia added. “We’re going to be very conservative with Shohei. We’ll see when, first and foremost, the elbow is sound enough to where he can swing a bat. I think that’ll happen before he’s going to be out on the mound pitching. But we’re very hopeful that he’s going to be pitching for us again this season.”
For now, the pitcher has started receiving injections of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells, according to CBS Sports.
Ohtani has come close to living up to the hype.
After a spring training where some called for him to be sent to the minors, Ohtani answered with a .289 batting average, six home runs and 20 runs batted in in just 34 games.
On the mound, the rookie is 4-1 in nine starts, with a 3.10 earned run average and 61 strikeouts in just 49 innings.
Some pitchers have been able to avoid Tommy John surgery with a UCL sprain, most notably Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees.
It’s one thing to suffer a blow to an already-thin pitching staff, and another to lose a potent hitter. Losing both at once could make for a long second half of the season.
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