3:40pm: Angels GM Billy Eppler provided further details on the situation, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). Ohtani reported elbow stiffness after being removed from his most recent start for a blister, prompting the medical review. When asked whether Ohtani can avoid Tommy John surgery, Eppler responded: “We’re hopeful that he can, that it is completely treatable with the biologic prescription the doctors recommended.”
2:03pm: In an alarming announcement, the Angels revealed today that right-hander Shohei Ohtani has been placed on the 10-day DL with a Grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He’s already received platelet-rich plasma and stem-cell injections, per the Angels, and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
The move comes as a brutal blow to an Angels staff that is without Matt Shoemaker indefinitely and without J.C. Ramirez for the balance of the season. It was reported shortly after Ohtani signed with the Angels that the young phenom had a Grade 1 sprain of his UCL when teams were courting him this offseason. Every organization was made aware of that information, and it obviously did little to dissuade clubs from embarking on an elaborate and high-profile courtship of the former NPB sensation. He also received a PRP injection for that injury at the time.
The preexisting elbow damage was either minimal enough or had healed to the point that Ohtani was able to pitch throughout Spring Training and quickly enter super-stardom in his first two months with the Halos. Not only has the 23-year-old pitched to a pristine 3.10 ERA with 11.1 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 and 0.9 HR/9 in 49 1/3 innings, he’s also been one of the Angels’ best hitters. In 129 plate appearances, Ohtani has raked at a .289/.372/.535 pace with six homers, eight doubles and a triple. He’s walked at an 11.6 percent clip against a 25.6 percent strikeout rate, and he’s even stolen a base in his lone attempt.
With Ohtani out of commission for at least the foreseeable future, the Angels will have Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, Tyler Skaggs, Nick Tropeano, Jaime Barria and Parker Bridwell as rotation options. But any more significant absence for Ohtani, coupled with significant recent injury histories for a number of the currently-healthy members of the Angels’ rotation mix, could push the Angels out into the market for rotation upgrades later this summer. Despite their excellent 35-28 record, the Angels find themselves 4.5 games back of the surprising Mariners in the American League West, and they’re 3.5 games out of an AL Wild Card spot at present.
srechter
My oh my. What a sad turn of events for such a wonderful story for the sport.
dimitrios in la
He really is a great story for the sport. Disappointing news.
Kayrall
Well it was fun while it lasted.
lowtalker1
This was bond to happen. After he was signed, reports came out with damage to the elbow
ray_derek
Bound as well
trident
I understood what he meant.
MetsYankeesRedSox
Wow! Didn’t see this coming.
Hopefully I’m wrong about where it’s going.
MZ311
That’s a shame. I wonder if he’ll give up pitching.
User 2997803866
That’s a little overdramatic.
thegreatcerealfamine
Why? It’s an excellent question.
jdgoat
How many other pitchers with UCL injuries have up pitching once they made it to the show? And how many of those who gave up had the upside of ace of a rotation?
thegreatcerealfamine
And how many were trying to be 2-way players?
Adam6710
The difference here is that he’s also an elite hitter, and given that UCL damage is more likely to occur when pitching, it’s a valid question for him and the team to ask themselves, and us to ponder.
If a UCL *tear* were to occur, he’d be out for a very long time, and if he were to give up pitching, he’d be much more likely to stay on the field and continue as an elite hitter.
majorflaw
“how many were trying to be 2-way players?”
Perhaps more to the point, how many of them had the viable option to be a position player instead?
Was hoping that Ohtani’s usage as a SP would tell us something about a six man rotation. Not sure that it has.
gugui
If the UCL is damage he will feel pain swinging a bat, that mean is a shame for him
jdgoat
I feel Ohtani will end up being a better pitcher than hitter though. I think he has the ability to be one of the best pitchers in the game. I find it incredibly hard to believe he’ll give up on it when he still might very well need surgery even with the small chance he decides he only wants to hit
Adam6710
Can’t be a better pitcher if he’s on the DL.
Again, just to be clear, we don’t know the true severity or long-term outlook– so this is all just for discussion– but it’s a valid discussion:
He may very well be a better pitcher than a hitter, but if being a pitcher puts him on the DL, it’s meaningless. Would you rather a #1 ace starting pitcher that only averages 18 starts a season over the next decade, or an all-star outfielder that bats .285 with 25 home runs and hits 3rd in 160 games a year?
brucewayne
Trust me, it causes pain doing a lot of things! Just normal everyday things causes extreme pain ! I’m dealing with it right now!
chitown311
Wow. Gleyber Torres now AL ROTY
Chris
Really the least important part of this
Begamin
lmao the salt
dimitrios in la
Yeah couldn’t care less about Torres in this context.
Bennybosox
Actually Torres does factor into this a little bit. He had UCL surgery as a position player and is contributing at the MLB level less than 9 months after the surgery. Was actually playing with minimal restriction at the 6 month mark, so Ohtani could have TJ and be back at DH by Opening Day next year contributing at the MLB level while rehabbing to get back on the mound
xSpecBx
That’s not really a good comparison for a timeline. Torres has TJ on his non-throwing arm and isn’t a pitcher.
rmullig2
Miguel Andujar is now ROTY
Begamin
Im so happy that the two players that are battling it out for ROY are Andujar and Torres. I have been watching Andujar since his Tampa Yankee days and I’m glad to see him doing so well.
dirtbagbaseball427
Torres would’ve son it anyway
dirtbagbaseball427
Won*
justin-turner overdrive
still wrong even with the edit, congrats
Begamin
oh look, a refutation without any real argument. might as well have said “no u”. embarrassing
Adam6710
I also think these days voters wouldn’t consider Ohtani as much a rookie as say, Ichiro was back when.
justin-turner overdrive
He’s 23 how the hell can you say something like that? Most 23 year olds are at AA. He’s absolutely a rookie.
srechter
This would’ve been an interesting dilemma had he played a full season. Alas, it’s an argument that will likely never come to fruition now with the injury.
LumberJerk9Billion
Minor leagues are pro leagues too, considering that you accept money to play baseball for your profession. NPB compares with AAA anyways.
justin-turner overdrive
The rules of what a rookie are are clearly defined, sorry you don’t like them and they might not even make sense, but both Ichiro and Ohtani were rookies in MLB, as was Satchel Paige when he was like 200 years old when he came to the bigs. Nothing to do with age or previous non-MLB experience.
Adam6710
So should Carlos Correa be rookie of the year because he’s 23?
Ohtani played nearly 5 seasons in Japan. There are many voters that consider Japan a major league and do not consider them amateurs when they play their first season in MLB.
Age has nothing to do with it, the rulebook’s definition has nothing to do with it (and neither does my opinion)– it’s what the voters think, and many voters have expressed that since Ichiro, they might look at professional experience in Japan a lot differently today than they did in 2001.
Again, I’m not saying he wouldn’t be voted for or win, I’m not saying I wouldn’t vote for him (I might), but just that attitudes are a lot different, it’s a controversial topic, and not exactly the shoe-in it might have been 15 years ago.
But hey, knee jerk angry reactions are par for the course on the internet so I won’t bemoan commenter’s responses.
Adam6710
Even in 2003 it’s clear that Japan experience mattered to voters, as Angel Berroa was given the ROY over Hideki Matsui, despite them having nearly identical BA, HR, OPS, and WAR– with Matsui having some 30 more RBI, and more than twice as many BB.
That said, Ohtani’s unique status as a 2-way player makes an impressive oddity that could make up for all of the voter’s doubts. Though to this point I think Andujar and Torres both probably still have an edge.
What hurts Ohtani’s hitting stats is that he’s not an everyday player.
GeoKaplan
Yeah, I don’t think you want to be casting stones about “knee jerk angry reactions”.
I won’t pretend to know what the earlier poster meant about Ohtani being 23, but the point is highly relevant. Most players from NPB are usually significantly older when they make their MLB debut. Ichiro was 27, Matsui was 29. It’s possible some voters felt weird voting for a 29-year-old as RoY. Doubtful that same feeling would apply to a 23-year-old.
And despite your statements to the contrary, no knowledgeable baseball observer considers NPB as comparable to MLB. Nobody. At best, the analog would be AAA. The breadth of competitive talent in NPB is lacking compared to MLB, even if some individual talents in NPB might flourish within MLB, as Ohtani has done to date.
Finally, you might want to fine-tune your terms. A player doesn’t “lose amateur status” when he joins an MLB team. Players in the minors are considered pros as well. While a player in AA might not be making $20M a year, he is still being paid to play ball; plus, all those high-round draft picks received 7-figure bonuses to sign. Your concept that nobody would consider Ohtani an amateur after playing NPB is a complete non-starter, since no candidate for RoY is ever an amateur prior to making his MLB debut.
brucewayne
Why not? He hasn’t played enough at the major league level to disqualify him from rookie status , so sure he’s a rookie!
houkenflouken
Yowza!
I wonder if this has been bothering him all year. Has been delayed on a couple starts already.
I know he dealt with this problem as teams were getting ready to sign him as well early in last offseason.
Chris
Wow! Maybe he can play it out like Tanaka, but he’s probably better off just having the surgery. Hope he comes through. This guy is great for baseball
kimball0401
Cavs in 7
carlote
I hope so
ericm25
OY VEY…c him in 2020??
Megadro2000
God no
Caseys.Partner
In three weeks he is RF Shohei Ohtani.
No more pitching.
dimitrios in la
Well how does he THROW from RF with this condition?
Travis’ Wood
No chance
thegreatcerealfamine
In six months Machado and Harper don’t sign with the Phillies.
jbaker3170
Yep, play OF and throw out runners with his injury. Makes all the sense in the world. Go away already troll
srechter
You clearly didn’t think this one through before posting.
Phillies2017
My thoughts after every comment lol.
ericm25
I thought he had a blister issue, not a ucl issue. bummer.
Chris
I know right… seems fishy
bigdaddyhacks
Remember when the UCL issues where overblown in ST and everyone was a hater because your respective team didn’t land him?
Travis’ Wood
He was pretty much free so even with injury issues he’s a massive bargain….
NoRegretzkys
I remember when I secretly hoped he’d be a bust in MLB.
CubsRule08
So are you saying he’s a bust now? That’s a pretty interesting comment to make, especially now cause he’s injured.
Begamin
Your reading comprehension worries me
davidcoonce74
hoping a player is a “bust” is such childish nonsense. I hope none of your children ever succeed at anything. How lousy is that?
brucewayne
Worse!
The Inmate
I remember, and now I laugh last
Fg-3
Tanaka part 2. It is a shame but the latest trio of pitchers from japan have been fragile at best. Darvish Tanaka and now Ohtani.
costanza
Tanaka has averaged over 26 starts a season coming into 2018 with a partially torn UCL. I wouldn’t exactly call that fragile.
thegreatcerealfamine
This is why you should never let your kid use your IPad.
SevenCostanza
Father? Is that you?
driftcat28 2
Today’s hamstrings not withstanding, Tanaka hasn’t been very injury prone since the UCL thing. He successfully rehabbed that injury
HaloShane
See you in a year! TJ here he comes.
boristhespider
He’ll be out until 2020 if he has the surgery.
therealryan
If he has the surgery now he won’t pitch until 2020, but he should be able to DH next year. Hitters come back much sooner.
HaloShane
He very well could pitch the end of next year. With as bad as this team is, one would think he has zero reason to pitch next year.
justin-turner overdrive
Its 10-18 months for TJ for pitchers, and 6 months for hitters. You cant make this prediction.
CubsRule08
Big blow to the Angels
SFGiantsfan28
Does this mean that Angels are going to make a trade for a SP? (If yes, then who is even available? Haven’t been following the rumor mill as much this season)
gorav114
Barria more than held his own and should get the call backup IMO.
cakirby
Angels have been running a 6 man rotation and still have Bridwell in AAA (though he’s been pretty bad). Just go back to 5 man and they’re fine. They need relief pitching more than anything else.
NineChampionsips
Ucl damage? Slegna pitcher? Sounds bout right
justin-turner overdrive
what is slegna?
Cat Mando
read it backwards.
justin-turner overdrive
Thats….a weird and random thing to single out the Angels for, does it mean they do things backwards? I don’t like how they run their team from top to bottom so I’m with it, but its weird, I mean I get (and love) lolMets, but writing Angels backwards seems weird. I guess I learned something today haha
halofan20
It’s like he went to the mechanic for an oil change and now they told him he needs a new transmission. Blister>TJ
Kennon Riley
Mariners will be under .500 by the ASB, if not sooner. They are not a good team.
matthew102402
Can you explain?
24TheKid
They’re so bad that they’re 16 games over .500 and in first place.
bigdaddyhacks
Lol. Dubs. Dubs. And dubs and after dubs.
bbatardo
I don’t know enough about UCL injuries but would he be able to DH later as worst case?
halos101
no if he gets tommy john he can’t hit
justin-turner overdrive
He might be able to rest for a while then DH til the end of the year, have the TJ, recovery time is about 6 months for hitters, and just be a hitter in 2019, and then go back to pitching in 2020.
halos101
why can’t we have good things man…
bleacherbum
^ says the guy with the hottest wife out of the friend group. You guys have good things? look in centerfield. Don’t take his career for granted.
halos101
Don’t take mike trout for granted. Got it. Thanks for the wise insight.
justin-turner overdrive
That’s what happens when you have a clueless manager who has coasted off the 1 title he won 2 decades ago combined with a coaching and medical staff who have zero idea how to treat pitchers.
Ray lopez
Comes out with a “blister” and now has a UCL sprain something weird is going on
HalosFan8
This is such crap. Time to clear out the whole medical staff and maybe all the pitching coach staff. SOMEONE IS NOT DOING THEIR JOB IF EVERY STARTER HAS A TRASHED UCL
Cat Mando
HalosFan8
Because all of the damage was done in his 49.1 innings this year? /s
Steven Chinwood
They were kinda responsible for green lighting the signing.
adamontheshore
Every team would have done the same. Even if he gets TJ it is still a good signing.
thegreatcerealfamine
Exactly how so?
halos101
steven are you really saying they should’ve backed out of the signing… good grief
Phillies2017
Maybe not “good” per say, but the period wouldn’t be totally lost if he turned out to be done (which I don’t expect at all), as they also got Maitan, which is a very high upside move. That Soto kid is no slouch either.
Sadler
Pitching coaches and medical staffs cannot help the fact that the human arm did not evolve to throw a baseball 100MPH over and over again. At best, good mechanics may help reduce the likelihood of an injury, but they will never eliminate it. Every pitcher is susceptible to this type of injury regardless of mechanics, pitching coaches, and medical staffs.
HalosHeavenJJ
Knowing the Angels usual reports on injuries, this means he’s having Tommy John. It is always initially announced as a minor issue, then a few days later a bigger issue, then a couple of weeks later the truth comes out.
The excitement he’s brought to this franchise has been incredible. I hope this is just a sprain.
billwood23
Angels are just snake bitten!!! Can somebody please lift this curse so we can actually be healthy a contend for a year.
atd75167
Sure fire your staff, Then trade Trout , and draft pitching for 5-6 years. Then you can contend.
dhutch64
Sounds pretty typical for the Halos
halofan20
Someone needs to check their pitching coaches, I don’t believe in coincidences.
gofish 2
Call Jaime Barria back up. He’s been one of the Angels more solid pitchers.
Solaris601
Totally agree. I think Ohtani’s placement on the DL should result in Barria’s permanent promotion to the rotation. Dude has logged a quality start every time out so far.
jimmertee
As I said before this guy was even signed months ago, he will NOT have a longterm career as a pitcher. His arm/shoulder cannot handle the workload of MLB. He will be a very good to elite hitter/position player.
This will happen. #Scoutseyes
brucewayne
Did you figure this out before or after his injury Mr. Scout ? Maybe when you were a AAA manager right ? LoL ! What a joke !
Joe Kerr
maybe pitching him once a week and even skipping days threw him off. Get on a more regular schedule and it probably lessens the chance of being hurt. Feel sorry for him.
radar
A second degree sprain means the UCL ligament is torn but the joint integrity remains intact. Before stem cells the ligament would heal with non-elastic scar tissue that continually tears under stress. Hopefully …… stem cells will grow like a ligament and repair it. This is a very serious injury and will probably be out the rest of the season.
Radar — former athletic trainer
GeoKaplan
Exactly what Garrett Richards did to heal his UCL non-surgically. He’s been pitching well in the high 90s this season.
Ohtani’s injury is inconvenient but hardly the end of the world, nor the end of the Angels season.
Solaris601
If it’s determined that TJ isn’t mandatory at this point, do the Angels and Ohtani proceed with the season with him strictly a DH? He’ll be out totally until 2020 otherwise. Tough choice.
dimelotitony
It is a big blow not only to the Angels but to MLB as well. People need to remember these are human beings throwing 100+ it is not optical for the human arm time and time again to throw with such violent force. It is too bad that in today’s generational ballplayers the pitchers are breaking down more often than in non-technology ages back then.
Going forward what will be his best bet to remain in MLB will be to eventually give up pitching.
My big question is how the heck do you classify this as a blister prior and no big deal to all of a sudden UCL? This had to have been in the works prior maybe even a month ago either that or the Angels have the worst medical staff that can’t tell the difference betweeen a blister and a Grade 2 UCL.
jd396
I don’t think anyone is suggesting that the blister and the UCL are directly related.
justin-turner overdrive
I hate to say I told you so, but I was calling this in all these threads from Day 1. To me, this was such an obvious thing that was going to happen with the Angels being infuriatingly clueless with how they treat all their pitchers.
The Angels trainers, medical staff and manager are so bad at what they do to pitchers they all need to be fired. Scioscia took Ohtani from 98 to 103 to 110 pitches, then 83 when clearly it was tearing then his last game when he got hurt in the middle of it, you can almost see the tear happening just by looking at his pitch counts, as much as that is going to make old school fans mad. You cannot be doing that to 23 year olds. Kid gloves for the first season then slowly ramp them up when they prove they can pitch without getting hurt.
Scioscia absolutely needs to go, he’s coasted off 2002 for literally 16 years now, that is insane. He. Is. A. Bad. Manager. Period.
GeoKaplan
Yeah, you apparently don’t follow the team, so your post really makes you look clueless.
The team has been exceedingly careful with Ohtani, to the point of skipping starts to give him extra rest. Pitchers don’t take batting practice, and hitters don’t throw bullpens, so Eppler has been public about managing Ohtani’s workload, since he does more in a week than any other pitcher or hitter in the game.
The Grade 1 sprain was known by all 30 teams prior to bidding, and clearly it drove no team away from him. This has always been a potential outcome, but Ohtani’s selection of the Angels was predicated upon his opportunity to both bat and pitch. The Angels have honored his wishes; this has zero to do with Angels training/conditioning staff or with Scioscia. The “kid gloves” you mention are evident in the care the team has taken to date, handling him as a long-term investment, instead of as a celebrity to cash in.
But please, continue with your rant. I’ll assume it’s your audition for Barstool Sports.
qualla
The % of young, hard throwing arms that have UCL issues seems to be pretty common. Very tough on the elbow. Hope he doesn’t need TJ surgery.
DanielDannyDano
This is why Ohtani was willing to forgo millions of extra dollars by waiting an extra year or two to come to the Majors. He knew that there was potentially something wrong with his elbow before he decided to sign with the Angels. A bird in the hand………makes sure he gets paid.
Bocephus
This is really an interesting take, though I doubt it will be a very popular take on here.
davidcoonce74
It’s an interesting take because it makes no sense. Ohtani was making more money in Japan than he is in the US.
jd396
You did see what he signed for, right?
GeoKaplan
He’s making MLB minimum for the next six seasons. Had his elbow been damaged in NPB this season, he would have had surgery, rehabbed, and signed as a free agent in MLB for tens of millions of dollars. He left money on the table by going to MLB this season.
Are you intentionally not following his story, because it’s been pretty comprehensively reported.
therealryan
Ohtani made about $2.5 million in 2017 to play baseball in NPB compared to about $550K to play in MLB.
mooshimanx
Shohei Ohtommy John Surgery
bradthebluefish
Good one.
bradthebluefish
Only in America do pitchers have UCL injuries. Make me wonder if our formula is wrong. That we give pitchers too much rest and thus their UCL keeps going through hot/cold cycles.
costanza
They get more rest in Japan…
davidcoonce74
Pitchers in Japan only pitch once a week, and pitchers in other countries have UCL tears.
Gobbysteiner
Yeah but in Japan little leaguers from a young age are throwing 30-50 innings a week so they’re also probably better used to it.
Cat Mando
The problem is throwing too much, at max effort and doing so nearly year round as kids. UCL’s don’t just snap unless there is a catastrophic incident like falling and bracing yourself and the elbow bends backwards. UCL’s stretch and stretch over time and then snap. Most of the damage is done before a guy ever reaches pro level. Muscles get stronger but ligaments do not strengthen.
There is a reason that TJS is also prevalent in javelin throwers, they also throw with max effort and overhand. We are not designed to do that.
Parent coaches and kids themselves are the cause of the epidemic. They strive to throw harder and harder, they play in multiple leagues, travel teams and tournaments year round, often with only taking a few weeks off per year instead of several months.
Read any of the many interviews with the late Dr. Jobe, or Dr. Andrews.
Here is a plethora of info on the mlb site m.mlb.com/pitchsmart/
davidcoonce74
50 innings a week? I doubt that. That is 7 innings every single day. Uh…no
Cat Mando
bradthebluefish…….50% of TJS are done on kids 15-19. Why do think that is?
FanOf_FriarsHalos_ReligionNotSoMuch
I’m really rooting for this young stud. He’s fantastic for baseball and even better for the Angles chances of forming a super solid roster during the Trout years. Hopefully, the plasma and stem-cell method works well and he’s able to DH until he can safely pitch again,. Nothing but good vibes for Shohei and his recovery!!!