Angels star Shohei Ohtani says he’s yet to decide whether to undergo Tommy John surgery following the recent recommendation that he do so, as Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group was among those to report (Twitter links). He has made the call, however, to finish out the 2018 season as a hitter rather than undergoing the procedure now.
While it still seems likely that Ohtani will end up receiving a replacement ulnar collateral ligament, he certainly does not appear to be anxious to get things over with. That would allow him to play for another three weeks, albeit at the cost of shortening the breathing room to get ready for the 2019 season.
If Ohtani does have the UCL procedure, of course, he wouldn’t be able to pitch next year regardless. And he’ll have a lengthy span to ready for the 2020 campaign. But the difference of three weeks could certainly impact his ability to participate fully in Spring Training and be fully prepared to function as a hitter at the start of the 2019 campaign.
Notably — albeit unsurprisingly — Ohtani also made clear he has no intentions of abandoning his two-way approach to the game. Given his superlative performances as a pitcher and hitter, prior efforts to function in both capacities, and the fact that he only just reached his 24th birthday, that seemed all but a foregone conclusion even before he weighed in.
Dumb
Good for him. Guy clearly loves playing the Game. No discernible detriment if he finishes out the year hitting, especially if things are monitored carefully.
I know. There’s nothing smarter than mindlessly accepting what the first expert you come across tells you.
Not sure it’s as simple as that but ok.
He is an Angel…. What would one expect?
Huh?
I’m guessing he is referring to the Angels injury history?
The longer you wait the farther off your return will be, sooner is always better than later in this scenario
should have done it when they initially knew he had UCL problems. he would already be that much further along. stupid.
“[H]e would already be that much further along.”
If he had gotten TJ in June, he would still miss the entire 2019 season as a pitcher but be ready in 2020. If he gets it in October, he will miss the entire 2019 season as a pitcher but by ready in 2020. If he had had TJ in June, he would still return in 2019 as a hitter. If he gets it in October, he will return as a hitter in 2019.
Players are not required to get surgery. It’s still surgery after all and surgery is scary stuff.
I like Ohtani, but this seems to be a bit short-sighted on his part. I understand why he wants to play and I love watching him hit, but he needs to get this surgery going.
Saving his bullets for free agency.
2024
The only comparable I see is Gleyber Torres. He had TJS in june 2017 and he was active right out of the gate in spring training hitting and was able to prior. I would think Ohtani would be hitter ready for 2019 even if surgery done in October. And mound ready 2020 late spring or early summer if all goes well. One thing i fully believe is that Ohtani is not dumb. He thinks things through and wants to play. I just wished he’d thought through signing with the Angel’s and signed with the A’s
I get what your point is, but the situation isn’t comparable. Ohtani’s future is on the mound. It’s an insanely shortsighted move on his part to wait this out in a season where the Angels aren’t going anywhere. Go get the surgery.
“Ohtani’s future is on the mound.”
That is the question, isn’t it. And it’s ‘nut cutting’ time. If he and the Angels really believe that his future is on the mound he should have the TJ surgery immediately, if not sooner. It will cost both of them a season or more, but that would be the way to go with a pitcher.
But he remains productive at the plate, and one of their few current draws, so there must be a temptation on both their parts to bag pitching for now and make him a full time OF/DH. Sure, he’d be less valuable than he would as a two-way contributor. But he’d actually be contributing, and at a bargain salary.
I don’t think this decision is as much of a “slam dunk” as others apparently do. We’ll see.
I’m getting really sick of his drama. Doesn’t want to sign with a big market team, signs with Los Angeles. Complains about not playing enough. Complains to the angels that he is perfectly healthy to pitch, gets shelled in his first start back from the DL and tore his UCL. Now he’s a doctor suddenly and is going to regrow his completely torn elbow ligament.
Someone’s salty he didn’t sign with the Yankees.
Gonna be extra salty when Ohtani wins ROY and it isn’t even close.
His stats don’t even come close bozo.
Shohei Ohtani: .287/.367/.586/.953 (19 HR) in 284 PA, 2.4 offensive fWAR
Miguel Andujar: .296/.329/.520/.849 (23 HR) in 523 PA, 2.3 offensive fWAR
Gleyber Torres: .277/.348/.507/.855 (23 HR) in 406 PA, 2.2 offensive fWAR
Ohtani’s OPS is about 100 points higher than Andujar’s and Torres’s. And his WAR is about the same as theirs, despite having more than a hundred fewer plate appearances than both of them. This is not even including the fact that he pitches.
How do you figure that the Angels aren’t a big market team? I have no problem with Ohtani hitting the last 3 weeks. I have to think that the Dr. told him that the three weeks won’t make a difference in his recovery.
He’s saying LA is a big market. and that Ohtani did not follow through on his reported preferences.
Keep in mind Ohtani himself never said anything about market size, that was just a teammate speaking and the story took on a life of its own.
Ohtani basically never said or did anything in that crybaby Yankees fanboy post lol
Oh, the peanut gallery weighs in again from the deaf coast!
lol
I am also mad Ohtani didn’t pick my team
Dude at least he’s an honest soul who’s not playing completely for the money.
He chose a place where he can have his way and the Angels got him
because they were going to give him what he wants.
He’s a young nice Japanese kid with skill.
Let him be who he wants to be because it’s his right to do so.
The games right now don’t matter. The games next Spring will matter (everyone is technically in the hunt in April).
Get ready for the games that will matter.
He sucks as a team player, putting himself before the team.
Stupid. Just get the surgery over with.
can he play a defensive position
he played outfield in Japan. But that requires throwing the ball which requires a UCL.
Masahiro Tanaka, and half a dozen other Japanese pitchers (who pitch in Japan) disagree. Turns out you can throw the ball just fine with a partially damaged UCL. You just need to manage it carefully…which shouldn’t be a problem for a right fielder, considering that there are starting pitchers who are doing it.
I love how salty Yankees fans are about Ohtani, now he’s going to continue destroying the ball until he’s got more homers than Andujar, thus killing off their totally ridiculous “Andujar is ROY” argument when the reality is he’s 4th behind Ohtani, Wendle and Torres.
That’s okay. Ohtani can have ROY, as long as Andujar and Torres get to compete for WS MVP.
Not suggesting he will, btw., Torres and Andujar have first and second place locked up, and the only question is, in what order….just pointing out that your crappy team is, once again, NOT going to the playoffs. So tone it down with the bravado. It’s pathetic.
Ohtani has been the best hitter between the three, and has thrown 10 starts leading to great stats as well. How can you possibly say Torres and especially Andujar are ahead of him?
How can you say Ohtani has been the best hitter of the 3?
Have you read their stats?
Have you read their stats?
(Copied from upthread):
Shohei Ohtani: .287/.367/.586/.953 (19 HR) in 284 PA, 2.4 offensive fWAR
Miguel Andujar: .296/.329/.520/.849 (23 HR) in 523 PA, 2.3 offensive fWAR
Gleyber Torres: .277/.348/.507/.855 (23 HR) in 406 PA, 2.2 offensive fWAR
Ohtani’s OPS is about 100 points higher than Andujar’s and Torres’s. And his WAR is about the same as theirs, despite having more than a hundred fewer plate appearances than both of them. This is not even including the fact that he pitches.
He has the highest ops plus and almost the same amount of homers in over one hundred less at bats. There’s no way you can possibly say that Torres or Andujar have been better hitters than Ohtani
Lmfao ok so I guess you haven’t watched baseball this year then
AL Rookies by fWAR:
1. Shohei Ohtani 3.3
2. Joey Wendle 2.6
3. Miguel Andujar 2.4
4. Shane Bieber 2.3
5. Gleyber Torres 2.1
It’s quite reasonable for the top three to be Ohtani, Wendle, and Torres (in that order), with Andujar fourth.
I think saber-metrics is brilliant, and should always play an important role in the long term evaluation of players’ performance.
But the notion that fWAR is the be all, end all decider on the value of a player who has 280 PAs and 50 innings pitched in the majors, is childish, and betrays your lack of understanding of saber-metrics.
The ROY will, rightfully, be decided by people involved in the game on a daily basis, rather than through mathematical formulas meant to be applied to much greater sample sizes than Ohtani’s injury riddled season.
And Torres and Andujar will come in first and second. Imo, in that order, but they could flip places depending on how they perform for the next three weeks.
Let me guess, Yankee fan…
Torres and Andujar… how many innings and strikeouts pitched do they have. How many of those two have a 1.15 whip?
And if you’re talking defense, both those Yankees are lousy fielders.
Ohtani in a landslide.
The ROY will be decided by the same people who gave the Cy Young to Rick Porcello over Justin Verlander 2 years ago. Now that was just making a mockery of the Cy Young.
Both of those ” lousy players” play every day Bub and their overall hitting stats leave Ohtani in the rear with the rest of the gear. Don’t know Ohtani’s defensive stats because he doesn’t play the field.
And don’t throw his pitching stats at us also because that doesn’t make it either.
There will be a tight race for ROY and the big “O” certainly will garish votes but him winning is far from being in the bag.
And yes I am a proud Yankee fan.
I agree with everything you said except that his pitching stats shouldn’t be thrown in. He has an era in the 3s.
Ohtani should be the clear frontrunner for ROY, and the reason he isn’t is because Andujar and Torres play for the Yankees.
Posting Ohtani’s stats as opposed to Andujar’s and Torres’s again:
Shohei Ohtani: .287/.367/.586/.953 (19 HR) in 284 PA, 2.4 offensive fWAR
Miguel Andujar: .296/.329/.520/.849 (23 HR) in 523 PA, 2.3 offensive fWAR
Gleyber Torres: .277/.348/.507/.855 (23 HR) in 406 PA, 2.2 offensive fWAR
Ohtani’s OPS is about 100 points higher than Andujar’s and Torres’s. And his WAR is about the same as theirs, despite having more than a hundred fewer plate appearances than both of them. This is not even including the fact that he pitches.
Rocky, how do their hitting stats leave Ohtani in the rear? There’s not a stat out their that shows they’ve been better than Ohtani
Again, the debate is started by you west coast fans like you Mr. Oakland A!
Just keep sticking to what you have no clue about! That seems to be your specialty.
Just make sure you’re around when the voting actually goes down and we’ll see then.
Ohtani is gonna win roy by a mile. Yankee homers think otherwise sadly what ohtani has done and continues to do is show he is a very rare prospect. One that is good at both sides of the ball and that has been delt with an injury but that wont stop him from winning roy. Even with missed time dude is far more valuable than andujar and torres combined. Not even an angels fan.
Mindless…..great!
If he plans to continue playing as both a pitcher and a position player, I’d guess he pretty much has to have the surgery, eventually, doesn’t he?
Angel haters…Ohtani will consult with family in Japan and no doubt will have TJ surgery. He’ll be the dh next year and be pitcher and hitter in ‘20. By that time Trout will be extended in his contract. Relax.
And Rookie of the Year.
I read trout is not even thinking about a contract extension. If the angels want trout to stay they have to make the playoffs and at least make it deep in the ALDS or possibly ALCS .
All these tough guys saying get the surgery done…
Idiot
What stinks is that if there was ever a player to try the rest approach, he was it. But that option ended the other day when the team decided he had rested enough and had him pitch. The cynic in me thinks they ran him out there with the expectation that blowing out his arm would likely happen so they could deal with it earlier rather than later.
That’s just stupid. You probably believe the “grassy knoll” theory too.
Anyone think he can possibly pitch through his ligament damage, I thought Nolan Ryan did that and possibly Ervin Santana aswell.
He’s just postponing the inevitable, and is putting himself at an even bigger risk. Just get it over with.
He won’t be successful at both,just the truth,he’s not Babe Ruth,pick one or the other and be a good teammate
He should just have the surgery I saw a couple reports that said that if he had the surgery now he could be able to hit all next year and then be able to pitch in 2020 and unless the angels go big in free agency they are not going to win until then anyway. When he comes back he should for the first half of the season be the closer, like come in after DHing the the first 8 innings
and the. The second half and post season be a starter if he can handle that.