The Los Angeles Angels have worked to accommodate Shohei Ohtani and where he stands medically. Now that the focus is his long-term health, the timeline of his recent months are now being dissected.
Ohtani’s performance hasn’t been an issue, his 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 11.39 K/9 in 132 innings pitched are a continuation of what the Angels saw in him in recent years. His bat is still playing at an MVP level, posting a 178 wRC+ with 44 home runs, 95 RBI, and 102 runs scored.
But the concerns over his injured right elbow have taken over his season. One of the early signs of the intrigue came when the Angels offered for Ohtani to have an MRI in August, but he declined.
Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, spoke with Sam Blum of the Athletic, speaking on a number of topics, including the decision early last month:
I can address that. It was the Seattle outing (Aug. 3), and he came out with a cramp in his finger. And it was just a suggestion. Right after he came out, it was a suggestion like, maybe we need to get imaging. It was like, ‘Hold the fort, let’s find out what the deal is.’ I consulted with Shohei after. We talked through it. If you notice, in the sixth or seventh inning, the cramp went away. He hit a home run to tie the game. Then he stole a base. He was fine. It wasn’t any issues with the elbow, no issues with the shoulder. No problems. He was good to go.
And if you recall, he was normal for his next start and threw 97 pitches. He beat the Giants. So he was fine, everything was good, so there were no issues with that. It was just a quick suggestion, thought about it, talked with him, everything was good. It didn’t warrant it at all.
Ohtani made one more start after facing the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 9, but what forced to come out of his Aug. 23 outing against the Cincinnati Reds after 1.1 innings pitched. There hasn’t been any definitive talk of him requiring Tommy John surgery, but all roads usually lead from UCL injuries to needing it.
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