5:23PM: Ohtani’s recovery from his knee surgery shouldn’t impact his Tommy John rehab or his readiness for Spring Training or the start of the 2020 season, Eppler told Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters.
3:52PM: Angels DH Shohei Ohtani will undergo surgery on his left knee tomorrow, as per a statement from team GM Billy Eppler (Twitter link). The procedure will focus on Ohtani’s bipartite patella, and it will keep Ohtani on the mend for roughly eight to twelve weeks.
On paper, this should leave Ohtani with plenty of time to be healthy and ready for Spring Training, though one potential wrinkle could be how this latest injury impacts Ohtani’s ongoing recovery from Tommy John surgery. Ohtani underwent the elbow procedure last October and, by all accounts, has been progressing nicely, though this knee issue is certainly an unwelcome complication to the already unique situation facing Ohtani as a two-way player.
The TJ recovery kept Ohtani from making his 2019 debut until May 7, and he was limited strictly to designated hitter duty in his second big league season. While his numbers took a step back from his 2018 totals, Ohtani went from being elite in his rookie to “merely” very good in 2019, cracking 18 homers and slashing .286/.343/.505 over 425 plate appearances. It works out to a solidly above-average 122 OPS+ and wRC+, with a .350 xwOBA that only slightly lags behind his .357 wOBA.
The dropoff in production could mark something of a sophomore slump as pitchers get more used to Ohtani, though it could also represent his extra challenges of both coming back from Tommy John surgery as a position player while still continuing to rehab his throwing arm for his expected return to the mound in 2020. Needless to say, the Angels will be as cautious as possible in monitoring the phenom’s health throughout the offseason and Spring Training, given Ohtani’s dual importance to both the team’s lineup and rotation.
I do hope his body holds up. already two surgeries in two years is a terrible sign.
he’s glass. you’re right not a good sign. You’ll soon see Angels letting him walk and he will bounce from team to team all taking a flier on what he could have been.
Lol why u hating on Showtime. He’s been hit with a couple big injuries so what? He’s still been great when healthy. Sorta like Yoenis Céspedes, but maybe not that much yet.
Showtime does have the happy time murders now. That’s a funny flick.
That movie was terrible! Laughed maybe twice. Clever idea. Terribly done.
The Angels need him to be an ace starter, not a DH. He’ll never pitch a full season in the MLB.
That’s highly unlikely… he’s been VERY good both offensively and on the mound when healthy. And he’s still just working towards arb-eligibility. There’s no reason whatsoever the Angels would even consider letting him walk. He’s also still very young and easily has time to rehab this surgery and make it back to full strength next season.
I agree, the Angels would be silly to let him walk, but the “VERY good offensively and on the mound”….he’s a .285, 60 RBI hitter who’s played less than 50% of the games he could offensively and a 4-2 pitcher with a whole 50 innings under his belt….let’s not be too quick to anoint him as a MVP and Cy Young winner until he proves it…..its his choice to be a 2 way player…if one takes away from the other than so be it.
Also, he hasn’t shown he’s recovered from the TJ as yet so you really don’t know what he’ll produce on the mound until he’s on the mound for real.
The only really good offensive player on the Angels is Mike Trout who should win MVP this year and deserves it.
@rocky7 no player on a team with a record like the Angels should ever be MVP that simple. I remember when the MVP award was given to the player who actually made a difference on a winning team. There’s been a few exceptions over the years but this year there are two guys that are the league MVP over Trout, Bregman and Lemahieu. Both helped lead their teams to division winning seasons. Trout hides on a crappy team on the west coast like a hermit putting up meaningless numbers year after year. The guy’s a great ball player but he lacks the sack to suit up for a winner or force his team to be better. Will we ever see a Mike Trout team in the playoffs? Fair question.
He was 51% better than the league average hitting the baseball last year. In a season where he was recovering from TJ he hit 22% above the league average. If he wore pinstripes you’d be gargling on his balls.
And why you’re citing his BA and rbis (Or even at all) as a knock after complaining about him not being on the field enough is beyond me. Let’s play pretend and say RBIS are a great stat; he has 123 RBIS over 710 ABS. Which is only about 50 more abs than your regular everyday player. So I’m not quite sure how you could knock him for that.
Angels have a lot money coming off the books next season, that’s why they have been getting scrap heap players, and building the farm system up. They will go for it next year
jbigz12
Of course you are right. I’m amazed how ignorant some of these people are.
If you take Lemahieu or Bregman off their teams, they’re still playoff teams. That goes both ways lol.
The award is “MVP”, not “MVP relative to the success of his Team”.
Mike Trout is the best, and most valuable player in baseball. Deal with it.
The hilarious part is that he had an elbow issue before he even signed…and they signed him anyway and BAM – Tommy John. Now he needs knee surgery? I agree…he may be very good (when healthy), but is that ever going to be the case? There are a few players like that. Corey Seager comes to mind. He has a hard time playing a full season.
They signed him to a rookie contract. Ohtani has already been worth the money they paid him. You’re absolutely clueless if you think otherwise. The elbow problems weren’t a concern when you’re paying a guy essentially nothing. The only question on Ohtani was how much surplus would the Angels get. If this were a 100+ million dollar signing you guys might be able to post this nonsense. But for a guy who cost the angels a total of around 7 million bucks so far, you sound a complete fool.
He’s glass, do you not understand the meaning of a congenital?
This isnt an injury — it’s a condition he’s p[ayed with his entire career… his kneecap is two bones instead of one., If anything they are trying to address it before it becomes a problem.
shocked not shocked. he’s made of glass. I wouldn’t roster him in any fantasy leagues or real life.
thats your take. my take is that this will go down as one of the worst comments in mlbtr history. i wouldnt trust your opinion on fantasy baseball or real life.
Two injuries does not make you glass. I would bet that it the angels were in contention then this would be an off-season surgery
The sooner the healing can start the better. And, let’s be honest, we don’t want to win right now we need to move up in the draft.
This isn’t a major deal, but let’s keep that glass thing going ha ha.
Maybe if he and he team focused on his hitting instead of this two way player pipe dream that obviously is not working out and make him a 1st baseman/DH. Or just a relief pitcher/hitter not a starter.
They worked very closely with his Japanese team to mimic his routine in Japan. Pitching only on Sunday, giving him the day before and after a pitching appearance completely off, timing his bullpens, etc.
It worked in Japan. His Tommy John was a mechanical throwing issue, this is something he was born with.
I still think he can be a 2 way guy, but I’m getting more on board with him as a reliever than a starter.
Every team that bid on him was made aware years ago that TJ surgery might be needed.
The guy is a star and there’s no one like him in the majors.
To all the jealous haters, it’s going to be great seeing him in the spring, pitching and hitting.
How is someone being jealous or a hater because they are saying he’s injury prone when’s he’s had two major injuries in his first two season and has not played a full season or close to one till this point. It’s called being a baseball and evaluating a player based on his performance. If I was hating I would say he’s a crappy hitter or pitcher. but we know he’s not.
This isn’t an injury. This is cleaning up something he’s had since birth.
So what. he’s still going under the knife and surgery carries a great risk in making that part of the body sensitive to injury.
dr. troll!
If he’s made of glass than the whole yankee roster is sand. Every yankee “fan” roots for this guy to fail because they can’t believe he didn’t sign with them. Get over yourselves.
I’m a Yankee fan and I don’t root against him at all your comment is just as ridiculous as the “idiot” yankee fans who root against him.
By the way that “sand” roster has the best record in baseball
when your owner blows the commission it tends to happen.
Do you understand the “sand” comment wasn’t an attack on the Yankees?
He was saying his comment was absurd (about Ohtani being glass) and he’s right. It’s absurd.
The emotions you have against Yankee fans. Im a Yankee fan and I am not hoping Ohtani fails. I’m actually bummed because it would be cool to see a successful two way baseball player.
Darn. I’m an A’s fan but I’ve been following him. He works hard and truly loves the game. I can tell he cares about others and does not want to disappoint. It’s a shame he’s been hit with these injuries in the early stages of his career. I wish the best for him next year when he returns to both pitching and hitting. My prayers to him; he’s a good guy that I want to see on the field everyday (or every 3 days if he’s both pitching and hitting).
Same. I’m an Astros fan but first & foremost a baseball fan, and the game is more fun when guys like Ohtani are on the field. Hoping he recovers fully so I can see him take on my boys 19 times next season!
It doesn’t seem like a big deal. If it was his back or his right elbow, I might be more concerned. It’s an extra bone… right?
I would venture to guess this is a first in ML history therefore I don’t have a frame of reference, but this doesn’t have me too scared.
I much more afraid that this team will do nothing to address it’s starting pitching problems.
I’m pretty sure the angels are just like hey we have nothing to lose let’s get it done now so he’s completely healthy, I don’t even know what that injury is, but yeah the season is lost anyway… No reason to even watch anymore with he and trout both out.
It’s not an injury — not sure it’s the best phrase but it’s essentially a form of birth defect.
Some of these comments though.
the Angels season has been done. Get this out of the way so he can be ready to go for spring training
More pitchers should DH while they are recovering from TJ surgery, Its not glass, MLB is obviously more rigid than Japan, i guess, with the Japanese pitchers going ever 6 days.
What Japanese pitched hasn’t had some sort of injury in MLB>
I think they should rotate front office personnel at DH too. They’re cheap.
He’ll find his way to the Mets soon
Ouch…a random mystery injury needing surgery? Maybe my Halos should just give him, Trout, Upton and old man Albert the rest of the month off. Start their off season early and let them rest and forget about another sad and non-playoff season. Something needs to go better next season. It has been rough to watch the last few seasons. Especially when you have family and friends that are Dodger fans….
No biggie, the Angels will be 30 + games out by years end. Best vacation wishes to Ohtani.
Now, I’m glad the Angels got him instead of the Rangers…
Then you’re a fool. There is not a team on the planet that wouldn’t love to have him. Not one.
Lmao a pre-arb player who has already posted north of 6 fWAR. But yeah damn you’re right Texas would’ve had no use for that. I mean come on. If he were making 150 million dollars you might have a comment to make here.
Idiot comment. He’s better than 95% of your team.
I’d like to say I’ve never seen anything like this, but for Angel fans, this is just another Thursday.
He’s fixing his knee, because the season is done. The Tommy John injury was expected, but he is a good hitter so who cares.
This guy earns every penny. He undergoes tjs and still produces with the bat even if it was a little bit of a down year by his own standards. Next year he comes back elite from the mound and in the box. I’ll take him and his contract
Tough crowd! why so many haters for a player with an .880 career OPS? He has 40 HRs and 40 Dbls in roughly 700 at bats. Not to mention 22 steals.. He could also play CF if they let him.. he is one of the most talented baseball players on the planet!! I understand he has been hurt a few times but C’mon.. he is still a kid with a tremendous future. He will eventually need to chose one path or the other unless it gets chosen for him.
any angels article will bring out the worst even from trolls. treat’em like what they are. don’t respond.
Twins “fans” who post on StarTribune, or here, I guess, would call him a bust because of injuries.
I’m glad his knee surgery won’t reinjure his elbow.
I think that would be needlessly invasive.
I know Ohtani has flashed brilliance as a hitter and pitcher, but down the road he should probably focus on one. A lot of injuries already for this guy. Can only imagine doing both puts added stress that a normal player doesn’t deal with
Ahh, finally. A voice of reason.
Ohtani has had one injury, other than a blister or two. The Angels knew about his elbow. The knee is a genetic thing nobody knew about. That’s not an injury. So to say he’s had a lot of injuries is not true. What injuries am I forgetting about that would constitute “a lot”?
I see all the Mensa candidates came out to comment on this one. The only thing missing is some brainiac to mention the Angels should trade Trout. But it’s still early.
I guess the really sad part is that the Angels keep trying to put together a solid roster to help Mike Trout get to the playoffs. Hamilton, Pujols, Simmons, Upton, Ohtani — nothing works. Perhaps it’s time to look to the coaching staff to figure out why they can’t get these guys who were winners elsewhere, winning in Lalaland. They tried with Brad — but did he have that great a record in Detroit?