Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani has endured his most difficult stretch as a starting pitcher in quite some time during his prior three trips to the mound. His struggles have been accompanied by his continued battle with not only a cracked fingernail but a blister issue.
In his three starts since July 4, Ohtani has allowed 14 earned runs in 16.1 innings pitched. Of his 18 hits allowed, six have been for home runs, and his issues with the free pass have been apparent.
The Angels have been careful to not put immense stress on him, ensuring he’s been cleared to pitch through it without fear it will worsen. But with his next turn in the rotation coming up, the staff wanted to give him an extra day, via Doug Padilla of the O.C. Register:
While Angels manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani is cured from his recent blister issues, the pitching plan moving forward is an attempt to keep it that way.
“With humidity the way it’s going to be and how hot it is, two things: Tiring him out in the heat but also the humidity or moisture in your hand could affect that blister,” Nevin said.
Carrying a 3.71 ERA, 4.29 FIP, with a 1.12 WHIP, Ohtani is still the ace of the Angels staff, even with this rough patch. Thankfully, there’s been an open dialogue with manager Phil Nevin, allowing both Ohtani and the Angels to work together to find the best path ahead:
“I brought it up to him and he agreed,” Nevin said about a conversation with Ohtani. “It doesn’t change the amount of starts he’s going to have. It basically gives him Toronto instead of Atlanta and a couple more games at home, but it takes him off of two day games in a row, which I prefer.”
A manufactured day off because of the postponement between the Angels and Detroit Tigers could alter the plan a bit. But as of now, pushing him back a day can do nothing but provide Ohtani with even more of a positive runway.
Hopefully, the offense doesn’t let up, making it easy on their starters, including Ohtani. Because in their last five games, the bats have produced 29 runs.
Angels and Shohei Ohtani havent discussed long term
Ohtani has done his best to carry the load with the recent string of injuries. Angels manager Phil Nevin has shuffled him around the top of the order to get him into more advantageous spots, and the two-way star has just continued to slug.
The talk around baseball is how smart of a move it is for the Angels to trade Ohtani and try to get what they can, while they can. But with an uncertain future ahead, the two-way star isn’t concerned with that going forward.
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