Surgical procedure possible for Ohtani, however he could keep away from Tommy John

ANAHEIM — Two-way famous person Shohei Ohtani remains to be weighing his choices after receiving a number of opinions on the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his proper elbow, however his agent, Nez Balelo, mentioned on Monday that Ohtani is in place mentally and obtained optimistic suggestions from a number of docs.

Ohtani, who tore the UCL whereas pitching towards the Reds on Aug. 23, received’t pitch once more this season and was initially within the lineup as DH on Monday earlier than being scratched with proper indirect tightness. Ohtani took batting observe on the sector earlier than the sport and appeared to wince in ache after his ultimate swing. Manager Phil Nevin mentioned after the 6-3 loss to the Orioles that Ohtani will endure additional testing on Tuesday morning and the Angels don’t know the severity of his harm but.

Before it was introduced that Ohtani was scratched, Balelo advised reporters that elbow surgical procedure is the almost definitely end result for Ohtani, nevertheless it won’t essentially be a second Tommy John surgical procedure. Ohtani, who is about to be a free agent after the season, had the operation in 2018 and didn’t pitch in ’19, however this tear is in a unique place than his earlier UCL harm.

“His spirits are high,” Balelo mentioned. “He’s in a good place. We all feel extremely positive based on information that we’re getting that he’s going to be fine. But the outpouring of love and well wishes, all of that has just been overwhelming, and Shohei really deeply appreciates it.”

Ohtani, the heavy favourite to win the AL MVP Award for the second time in three seasons, was anticipated to proceed serving as DH till deciding on his therapy plan for the elbow, however this indirect harm might change that. Ohtani is tied for the Major League lead with 44 house runs.

Balelo defined that when Ohtani sustained his UCL tear in 2018, the tear was on the prime of his UCL. But this time, it’s on the base of his UCL and there’s no injury to the repaired UCL from the preliminary surgical procedure. Balelo, although, wouldn’t get into specifics in regards to the choices for Ohtani surgery-wise. There is an operation with a shorter restoration time that entails utilizing an inside elbow brace, nevertheless it’s unclear whether or not that’s on the desk.

“Multiple doctors looked at this and said this is the best-case scenario for the situation we’re in,” Balelo mentioned. “The ligament itself and the graft that was put in with the ligament in 2018 is still intact, no problems. And that’s a real positive to take away from this.”

Balelo added that Ohtani shall be able to function DH to start out the 2024 season, even when he will get an operation on the elbow. Ohtani had surgical procedure on Oct. 1, 2018, and didn’t make his season debut in ‘19 until May 7, but Balelo said this time is different because of where the tear is in his elbow. But there is a chance Ohtani has the surgery before the end of the season to make sure he’s prepared for the beginning of subsequent season as a hitter.

“No matter what timetable we’re dealing with and when we get this done, Shohei is going to be in somebody’s lineup next year DHing when the bell rings,” Balelo mentioned. “We know that. We’re not going to push that, and he’s going to be good to go.”

Balelo additionally burdened that Ohtani’s relationship with the Angels stays robust and that the harm hasn’t had any impression on that. He believes the Angels have had Ohtani’s greatest pursuits in thoughts and that Ohtani didn’t have any points with the elbow this season till he tore the UCL whereas pitching towards Cincinnati. He confirmed that Ohtani declined to have pictures taken on his pitching arm after leaving his begin towards the Mariners after 4 innings with cramping in his proper center finger on Aug. 3.

“There wasn’t any issues with the elbow, no issues with the shoulder, no problems. He was good to go,” Balelo mentioned. “The fatigue thing really was, I think, blown out of proportion. People were just assuming that he was breaking down and there should have been signs for people to notice, but that wasn’t the case at all.”

Balelo declined to speak about Ohtani’s upcoming free company and whether or not the harm can have any impression on Ohtani’s need to signal a long-term deal or stay with the Angels. But he did say that Ohtani absolutely intends to be a two-way participant going ahead, regardless of the place he finally ends up.

“Longevity is important, because he loves to pitch,” Balelo mentioned. “There’s not a question in his mind that he’s going to come back and he’s going to continue to do both like we have the last few years.”