Shohei Ohtani’s 2023 season is over. The Los Angeles Angels announced Saturday that Ohtani has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique injury and the two-way star will not play again this year. Ohtani’s locker at Angel Stadium was cleaned out and his water bottle was in the trash after the team’s loss to the Detroit Tigers on Friday (DET 11, LAA 2).
GM Perry Minasian told reporters: including ESPN, Ohtani will soon undergo elbow surgery and he will remain with the Angels through the end of the regular season. Ohtani also has a torn right elbow ligament (wrap), and Tommy John surgery is the usual treatment for torn elbow ligaments, but not always. Alternative procedures are available for certain tears.
Ohtani hasn’t played since September 3 due to the oblique injury. The Angels continued to list him as a “day player” because he was initially injured during oblique batting practice on September 4, and in recent days he had completed pregame workouts but was unable to play in the actual game. Ohtani had an MRI on Friday and cleaned out his locker afterwards.
“He always wants to play,” Angels manager Phil Nevin told MLB.com before Friday’s game. “He’s just going through his stuff.”
The news that Ohtani’s locker was cleared out came a few hours after third baseman Anthony Rendon confirmed he had a broken tibia and said he didn’t know why the team hid the diagnosis. They called it a bone bruise. Rendon hasn’t played since July 4th. The Angels have a tendency to go astray with injury issues, and that’s putting it kindly.
It’s likely Ohtani played his final game with the Angels. He will be a free agent this offseason and has said he wants to play with a contender, something the Angels aren’t doing. Even with upcoming elbow surgery, Ohtani will be a hot commodity and could sign a $500 million contract. The sooner he has surgery, the sooner he can return to the field, first as a hitter and later as a pitcher.
Ohtani’s last appearance came over Labor Day weekend in Oakland, where he went 0 for 3 with two walks.
The 29-year-old Ohtani is expected to finish his season with a .304/.412/.654 batting line and an AL-leading 44 home runs as a hitter. As a pitcher, he threw 132 innings with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts. Ohtani leads all players with a WAR of 10.0 and his 2021-23 season can be expected to be the best three-year streak in baseball history. He remains the favorite to win the 2023 AL MVP Award, which would be the second of his career.
The Angels are 68-80, 13.5 games out of a wild-card spot and have 14 games left to play. They could be eliminated from postseason contention as early as Saturday. The Angels haven’t been to the postseason since 2014 and have never had a winning record with Ohtani.