Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani gets set to pitch during the first inning in the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, in Anaheim, Calif., before an MRI exam revealed his elbow tendon tear.
Mark J. Terrill/AP
Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani has suffered an elbow injury, dealing a blow to the baseball world and, potentially, the career prospects of a player regarded in the MLB as a once-in-a-century talent.
Ohtani, a rare dual pitcher-hitter, was diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow in between Wednesday’s doubleheader games, Angels general manager Perry Minasian said. His early exit from the mound was initially cited as “arm fatigue.”
The injury takes Ohtani off the pitcher’s mound for the rest of the season. After his diagnosis revealed the tear, Ohtani remained the designated hitter for the second game. It’s unclear whether he’ll continue to be able to hit this season, but Minasian said that, to start, the 29-year-old will be pulled from hitting for at least 10 days.
“We’re going to get a second opinion and go from there. It’s basically day to day. Obviously, he hit. But that’s where we’re at,” Minasian told reporters Wednesday night. As far as recovery, “there’s no timeframe,” he added.
There were warning signs: Ohtani has been dealing with arm fatigue this season, which caused him to miss his scheduled start at a game last week.
It’s Ohtani’s second UCL tear in five years. It’s possible that, as in 2018, he’ll undergo the notorious “Tommy John” surgery, a common reconstruction operation performed on pitchers with the injury, for the second time.
A second elbow surgery could knock Ohtani from the…
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