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Shohei Ohtani

AL Notes: Ohtani, Sipp, Red Sox, Rangers, Jays

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While there have been questions over whether the Angels will demote Shohei Ohtani to the minors to begin the season, it seems they do plan to have him open 2018 in the majors, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. In terms of results, it hasn’t been a good spring for the 23-year-old Japanese phenom, who has yielded 15 earned runs against 25 outs as a pitcher and collected just two hits in 20 at-bats as a hitter. However, on the pitching side, Ohtani has struck out 19 batters and issued only three walks, which has encouraged the Angels, according to Fletcher. They’re also confident he’ll turn it around at the plate. “The track record gives us the confidence to move forward with him as a two-way player,” general manager Billy Eppler said.

More from the American League:

  • The Astros may head into the season with an all-righty bullpen, thanks to the struggles left-hander Tony Sipp has endured in recent years, Oliver Macklin of MLB.com relays. Sipp, whom the Astros re-signed to a three-year, $18MM deal heading into 2016, posted back-to-back subpar seasons entering this year and hasn’t fared well this spring. Manager A.J. Hinch conceded that going with an all-righty relief corps is “an option,” though he suggested he’d rather see Sipp rebound to his pre-2016 ways. Sipp, who’ll turn 35 in July, is due to earn $6MM in the final year of his contract.
  • Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright may open the season in the team’s rotation, Ian Browne of MLB.com writes. Wright, who has been working back from the season-ending left knee surgery he underwent last May, threw three innings of live batting practice Saturday and called it “a huge, huge step in the right direction.” There’s also optimism about left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who had knee surgery last October. Of Rodriguez, manager Alex Cora said, “It seems like Eddie, he’s in a sprint right now, which is great.” Meanwhile, lefty Drew Pomeranz – yet another injured Red Sox starter – will throw a minor league game Sunday as he attempts to bounce back from a mild flexor strain. Cora noted that “you can’t rule out” Pomeranz or either of the other banged-up starters from beginning the year in Boston’s rotation.
  • Rangers pitching prospect Cole Ragans has a UCL injury that may require Tommy John surgery, Robert Murray of FanRag hears. The 20-year-old left-hander, whom MLB.com ranks as the Rangers’ sixth-best prospect, is in his third year with the organization. A first-round pick in 2016, Ragans spent last season at the low-A level and pitched to a 3.61 ERA across 13 appearances (all starts) and 57 1/3 innings, also notching 13.66 K/9 against 5.49 BB/9.
  • Major League Baseball has given Blue Jays pitching prospect Thomas Pannone an 80-game suspension without pay after he tested positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing substance, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Pannone, a 23-year-old southpaw, ranks as MLB.com’s No. 20 Jays prospect. Acquired from the Indians in last summer’s Joe Smith trade, Pannone divided 2017 between the high-A and Double-A levels, where he combined for a 2.36 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 over 144 2/3 innings and 25 appearances (all starts).

AL West Notes: Ohtani, Vogelbach, Whalen, A’s, Cotton, Puk

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The struggles of Shohei Ohtani this spring have been well-documented already, and while he’s ranked as one of the top prospects in baseball in most publications, scouts have been vocal about some weaknesses in his game. Ohtani would seem to be a significant part of the Angels’ plans for 2018, but GM Billy Eppler recently said that the club has made no assurances to Ohtani that he’ll be on the opening day roster (report: Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). “In our universe, we are evaluating this in a vacuum,” said Eppler. “Is this 23-year-old prospect ready to make an impact on both sides of the ball?” The decision to start Ohtani in the minors (if a serious consideration) would certainly make sense from a development perspective, and would come with the enormous benefit of giving the Angels an extra year of control over the two-way Japanese phenom, if he were to spend at least 15 days at Triple-A. Of course, such a decision would surely come with a storm of controversy as well.

Elsewhere in the AL West…

  • Greg Johns of MLB.com writes that the injury to Ryon Healy might have presented an opportunity for Mariners first baseman Dan Vogelbach, who’s opened some eyes this spring by hitting .405 with nine extra-base hits and nine walks in 37 at-bats during Cactus League play. “Vogey deserves to be on this club,” said GM Jerry DiPoto. “He has raked from day one. He has controlled the strike zone really better than anybody in the Cactus League. What he’s doing with the bat is reminiscent of what he’s kind of always done in the Minor Leagues, but we’ve never had the opportunity to see in the big leagues.” He also offered high praise for right-hander Rob Whalen, who was acquired from the Braves a year ago and has proved dominant this spring after coming into camp 25 pounds lighter.
  • Athletics right-hander Jharel Cotton will officially undergo Tommy John surgery according to a report earlier today. “I’m trying to take it as best I can, and just get ready for the long process, the long road ahead,” Cotton said in a video tweeted by Jane Lee of MLB.com. “I just gotta work hard with the rehab and come back stronger, so that’s what I’m gonna do.” Cotton’s absence in the rotation will leave the A’s a bit thin on starters, which the club has reportedly acknowledged; manager Bob Melvin has suggested that they might look at free agent pitching options, if prices have come down (h/t Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). One way they don’t plan on filling the rotation void is with top prospect A.J. Puk, according to club president Billy Beane. Via another tweet from Lee, Beane had the following comments when asked if Puk was a legitimate option for the opening day rotation: “If he is, it’s only because we don’t have a lot of options. Do I think it’s ideal to call upon a kid who has half a year at Double-A? No. That would not be the preferred route.”

AL West Notes: Holland, Bush, Ohtani, Zych

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The Rangers don’t appear to have anyone firmly in place as the their closer, though the recently-signed Tim Lincecum is one candidate to win the job. There’s at least a possibility that they could fill the position externally, as Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports in his latest “Inside Baseball” column that the team has considered bringing Greg Holland into the fold. We haven’t heard much other chatter about interest in Holland recently. The outgoing Rockies closer is MLBTR’s third-best free agent remaining, and the odds of him surpassing the offer he reportedly received from the Rockies earlier this winter (something in the three-year, $51MM range) aren’t good. This is particularly true considering the fate of the two Scott Boras clients to sign contracts most recently; Mike Moustakas recently received just a one-year deal at a $6.5MM guarantee from the Royals, while Carlos Gonzalez is said to be finalizing a one-year, $8MM contract with the Rockies.

Other recent items out of the AL West…

  • Speaking of the Rangers’ bullpen, the team hasn’t yet decided whether to utilize former closer Matt Bush as a starter or reliever this season, according to Evan Grant of SportsDay. By his own admission, Bush had trouble finding consistency in his most recent spring training outing, walking two and allowing a homer on 43 pitches. In 52 1/3 innings with the Rangers last season, Bush pitched to a 3.78 ERA and a 4.57 xFIP. He saved ten games during his brief stint as the club’s closer, but he blew another five save opportunities that came his way.
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports provides feedback from some scouts on the bat of Shohei Ohtani, the Angels’ most high-profile offseason acquisition. These eight MLB scouts (seven of whom have seen Ohtani this spring) aren’t high on the Japanese phenom’s chances to produce offensively at the major league level. According to Passan, these scouts believe that “[p]itchers are going to punish him with inside fastballs, his swing contains flaws in balance and mechanics, and he needs at least 500 plate appearances of seasoning in the minor leagues to give him a chance at becoming a productive major league hitter.” One in particular noted that Ohtani did not hit from a balanced base, adding that he needed to “cheat” on inside fastballs, which would theoretically leave him susceptible to other pitches. Of course, it should be noted that Ohtani’s never attempted to hit major league pitching before this spring; one would think he deserves a reasonable adjustment period before jumping to any conclusions about his hitting ability.
  • On the flip side of the coin, Joel Sherman of the New York Post details some concerns about Ohtani’s pitching. Sherman notes that he lacked high-end velocity in his most recent spring training start, mostly throwing between 91-94 MPH with some command issues. Though he generated 17 swings and misses (an extremely impressive number in just a few innings), he also uncorked a triad of wild pitches. Sherman wonders whether this can simply be chalked up to growing pains, or if it’s part of a more serious issue. The obvious caveat to this is that minute spring training sample sizes aren’t entirely indicative of cause for panic.
  • Mariners reliever Tony Zych is undergoing medical tests for what’s being described as shoulder discomfort, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. Though Seattle’s setup man improved his ERA to an impressive 2.66 in 40 2/3 innings last season, he experienced a steep dropoff in his strikeout rate, down to 7.75 batters per nine innings from a 12.66 career mark prior to 2017. He didn’t make any appearances past August 19th due to arm issues.

NL West Notes: Dickerson, Dodgers, Ohtani, D-backs

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Padres outfielder Alex Dickerson has been diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left (throwing) elbow, and surgery is a possibility, writes MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. It’s a tough break for the 27-year-old Dickerson, who missed all of the 2017 season following back surgery but showed some promise at the plate in his rookie campaign in 2016. That year, Dickerson slashed .257/.333/.455 with 10 homers in 285 plate appearances while walking at a 9.1 percent clip and fanning in just 15.4 percent of his plate appearances. Per Cassavell, the club is “hopeful” that Dickerson won’t require Tommy John surgery, but even if he doesn’t require surgery, he’s likely to miss at least the first month of the season.

More from the NL West…

  • Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times takes an excellent look at the Dodgers’ failed pursuit of Shohei Ohtani. The team had Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner and Chris Taylor fly into L.A. to help sell Ohtani on the Dodgers in their in-person meeting, but it proved to be a somewhat frustrating experience. Both Turner and Kershaw candidly stated that the process felt like a “waste of time,” indicating that Ohtani already seemed set on signing with an AL club where he could serve as a part-time DH. Kershaw didn’t express any ill feelings toward Ohtani himself, though he voiced some frustration toward CAA, Ohtani’s agency, over the matter. “I’m kind of mad at his agent for making us waste all that time and effort,” said Kershaw. “Fifteen teams should have been out of it, from the beginning.” Ohtani’s agent with CAA, Nez Balelo, issued a rebuttal to McCullough in which he calls any assertion that Ohtani would meet with a team for which he had no interest in playing “unfounded and an insult to [Ohtani’s] personal ethics.” Balelo also points out that Ohtani met with more NL clubs (four) than AL clubs (three). It’s a fascinating column that is filled with quotes from Kershaw, Turner, Balelo, Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman.
  • The D-backs have plenty of roster decisions to make by the end of Spring Training, but the bench presents a particularly enigmatic situation, writes Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. GM Mike Hazen and skipper Torey Lovullo need to determine whether they plan to carry seven or eight relievers, which will determine whether they utilize a four- or five-man bench. Even if it’s the latter, there are numerous battles for a spot. Lovullo calls a third catcher a “luxury” that he enjoyed in 2017, but Chris Herrmann or John Ryan Murphy (the two men who’d compete to fill that role) are vying with Yasmany Tomas and possibly Christian Walker for a potential fifth bench slot. The first four slots figure to go to Jeff Mathis, Chris Owings, Jarrod Dyson and Daniel Descalso, with Nick Ahmed and Ketel Marte likely holding the up-the-middle starting gigs. Notably, both Herrmann and Murphy are out of minor league options.

West Notes: Ohtani, CarGo, Scott

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As Shohei Ohtani settles into his first MLB camp, the Angels are keeping close tabs on his workload, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. It’s all still being sorted on the fly, but there are also some “objective” standards in place, including limits on the volume and timing of Ohtani’s swings of the bat. There are dichotomies aplenty for the hurler/slugger, including the impressions of team personnel such as hitting coach Eric Hinske (“uncharted waters”) and manager Mike Scioscia (“don’t know it’s anything that isn’t happening with other players”).

  • The Rockies miss Carlos Gonzalez “really badly,” third baseman Nolan Arenado tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Gonzalez’s presence in the clubhouse was clearly seen as a big positive by Arenado and others. Indeed, the young star was not shy in advocating for a reunion with the veteran former star. That has long seemed a possibility, but not a priority, and there’s no indication at this point that there’s any movement toward a deal. Coming into the winter, Gonzalez seemed likely to command a fairly sizable commitment on a one-year term, reflecting his streaky recent track record but also his long-recognized status as a high-end hitter. But the market has been particularly unkind to non-premium position players, so it’s really anyone’s guess at this point what kind of guarantee CarGo will be able to secure and what team it will be with.
  • Rangers righty Tayler Scott lost out on the race to be the first African-born person to play in the majors when fellow South African Gift Ngoepe hit the bigs last year. But Scott tells MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan that he still has his sights set on “the title of being the first South African pitcher.” The dedication certainly seems to be there. Baseball obviously remains a niche sport in his homeland, so Scott and his family relocated to the United States while he was in high school. Now 25, Scott has yet to master the upper minors but will be jockeying for position in camp with the Texas organization, which acquired him as part of last summer’s Jeremy Jeffress swap.

West Notes: Ohtani, JDM, Rangers, Rockies

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Shohei Ohtani’s debut will be one of the major stories of the 2018 season, and in a fascinating piece, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register talks to five sources (Ohtani’s former manager and signing scout with the Nippon Ham Fighters, and three former MLB players who played with Ohtani in Japan) to gauge how the 23-year-old will fare with the Angels.  While all five agree that Ohtani will have to make some inevitable adjustments to Major League Baseball, all believe he’ll be a success — interestingly, manager Hideki Kuriyama and scout Takashi Ofuchi think Ohtani will be better as a hitter than as a pitcher.  Former Yankees and Astros infielder Brandon Laird described Ohtani as “at his age, he’s one of the best, if not the best player I’ve ever seen or had the chance to play with,” after three years as his teammate on the Fighters.  “He’s almost like a 10-tool player, a pitcher and hitter who can do it all.”  For more opinions on what Ohtani might bring to the table, MLBTR’s Chuck Wasserstrom compiled an in-depth scouting report on Ohtani last May based on talking to five international-scouting figures from MLB teams.

Here’s more from both the AL and NL West…

  • It was reported earlier this week by FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman that Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick had met with Scott Boras several times this offseason in regards to J.D. Martinez, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) notes that Kendrick and Boras met again as recently as this week.  Since the Red Sox appear to be the only other known suitor for Martinez’s services, there still seems to be at least a chance that Martinez could return to Arizona, though some creativity may be required via the design of Martinez’s contract or in how the D’Backs could carve out payroll space to afford him.  That is, unless, Boras (who has a history of negotiating directly with owners) can just convince Kendrick to greatly increase what will already be a team record-high payroll in 2018.
  • The Rangers could be entering their last Spring Training with Elvis Andrus (opt-out clause), Adrian Beltre (free agency), and Cole Hamels ($20MM club option for 2019) all in the fold, making this season a pivotal one for the franchise, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes.  That makes the Rangers’ relative lack of spending this offseason stand out, though Wilson suggests that the team could be preparing to make a bigger splash in the star-studded 2018-19 free agent class, particularly if some, or all, of the Andrus/Beltre/Hamels salaries are no longer on the books.
  • Several Rockies starters performed well in 2017, and their potential and continued development could make the team’s 2018 rotation the best in franchise history, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes.  Colorado will head into the season with Jon Gray, Chad Bettis, German Marquez, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Freeland, Jeff Hoffman, and Antonio Senzatela all in the mix for rotation jobs, though it seems likely that all seven (and more starters) will required due to the inevitable wear-and-tear of a full season’s workload.  The depth will also help guard against any struggles from this still young and largely-unproven group of pitchers.

AL West Notes: Rangers, A’s Scouting, Pinder, Ohtani

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The Rangers and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japan Pacific League have announced a partnership. Gerry Fraley of SportsDay wrote a full report on the news, noting that the partnership will include exchanging of “ideas and information” about business, ballpark construction, scouting and player development. Notably, the Fighters will also send one of their own instructors both to Rangers spring training camp and to travel with the team during the regular season. The partnership may have evolved from the depth of scouting personnel that Texas deployed to scout players such as Yu Darvish, Yoshinori Tateyama and Shohei Ohtani. “We look forward to helping each other in a variety of ways,” Rangers President Jon Daniels said of the new alliance. It’s fair to wonder whether this partnership will allow Texas to get its foot in the door with future Fighters talent interested in making the transition to MLB.

More items from the American League’s western clubs…

  • The Athletics recently hired 24-year-old Haley Alvarez as their scouting coordinator; she’s the first woman to be hired by the club as a talent evaluator. Alyson Footer of MLB.com wrote a piece on the subject detailing the former intern’s rise to her new position. Alvarez’ journey to scouting began with baseball operations experience she gained during her college days at the University of Virginia, followed by internships with the Commissioner’s Office and the Boston Red Sox organization. Following an internship with the A’s, GM David Forst offered to sponsor her for scout school. Though Alvarez didn’t even know such a thing existed, she was excited about the opportunity, and used it to fuel her career path. She’s now using modern analytics and new advanced technology to help the A’s bring in talent. “You don’t have to have played baseball, which is a common misconception,” says Alvarez, who hopes to inspire other women to pursue career paths in baseball operations.
  • In other Athletics news, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports that sophomore Chad Pinder is preparing to play first base for the club on occasion. Because Ryon Healy was shipped to Seattle this offseason, the club needs a backup first baseman. “I think the last time I played first base was in eighth grade,” said Pinder, though he did take ground balls during practice there last season. The Oakland utilityman started at six different positions for the club last season while hitting .232/.292/.457 across 309 plate appearances with 15 homers and 42 RBI. The righty-hitter struck out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances.
  • Angels GM Billy Eppler is headed to Japan in order to help with Shohei Ohtani’s transition process, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. He’ll be bringing three other Angels personnel with him. “We spent so much time saying what we’re about to Ohtani and putting things forward for him,” said Eppler. “The main purpose of this is now to get his input and feedback on things.” Eppler also added that Ohtani is scheduled to get on a mound in two weeks; there don’t seem to be any concerns about his health at this time.

MLB To Investigate Leak Of Ohtani Medical Information

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Major League Baseball has opened an investigation into the recent leaking of medical information regarding new Angels signee Shohei Ohtani, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). It seems the league is concerned that a MLB organization was behind the release of the news that Ohtani has been diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament.

While the news on Ohtani did not come with any direct implications for his signing, it seems there’s a concern with the sanctity of the medical information that was shared by Ohtani’s representatives with interested organizations during his highly publicized recruiting process. Reporting on the subject indicated that MLB teams were made aware of the injury prior to his agreement with the Angels, so there’s no worry that his camp failed to make proper disclosures or that the deal is in any way at risk. (Indeed, quite to the contrary, the Halos have made clear they are fully aware of the injury and pleased to move ahead with the transaction.)

This matter occupies the same general arena — but in quite different circumstances — as the controversy that arose in 2016, when the Padres were deemed to have wrongly withheld certain medical information in the league’s central repository. In that case, Padres GM A.J. Preller was hit with a thirty-day suspension. Here, the league is concerned with the wrongful release of information on an individual player whose medical records have been shared with teams, which is perhaps less concerning from a competitive perspective but touches upon significant legal and ethical issues.

It’s certainly far too soon to know how this will play out. And it would be wrong to assume that someone associated with a MLB organization was behind the leak of information. If that is the case, though, and if the source of the leak can be determined, it stands to reason that commissioner Rob Manfred would consider significant disciplinary measures to deter any similar future releases.

NL Central Notes: Reds, Cardinals, Pirates

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Though the Reds didn’t ultimately make Shohei Ohtani’s list of seven finalists for his services, the team put together a detailed presentation in hopes of luring the two-way star to Cincinnati. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com wrote an insightful article detailing the Reds’ pursuit of Ohtani; the team shared the contents of its presentation with MLB.com and the Cincinnati Enquirer. Despite the fact that they could only offer him a maximum $300K signing bonus, GM Dick Williams and the entire Reds organization believed they could come up with a pitch attractive enough to sway Ohtani in their direction. “I’d like us to think that we might have a chance. I’ve followed this kid,” Williams said at the the beginning of the process. “I think he’s wired differently. He’s clearly shown he thinks out of the box.” The baseball operations, business, creative services, and marketing departments all worked together to tailor a presentation that included a 120-page book and 12-minute video. One of Cincinnati’s selling points was having Ohtani pitch in a six-man rotation (something he was used to doing in Japan), while playing the outfield and getting at-bats as a pinch-hitter. The Reds pulled out all the stops, including the addition of testimonials from Hall of Famer Barry Larkin and former MVP Joey Votto. Though they ultimately came up short, the release of the presentation’s contents to the media is generous to say the least, and provides a rare and fascinating insight into the player recruiting process.

More items from the National League’s Central Division…

  • Although he cautions that the club isn’t necessarily on the cusp of a big announcement, Cardinals GM Michael Girsch says that the club has “some sense of optimism” regarding their pursuit of a big bat (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). The Redbirds seem to have a desired hitter in mind, and reportedly feel good about their chances of acquiring him. “We’re not at the goal line, but we’ve made progress,” says Girsch. While Girsch himself didn’t mention any specific names, Goold notes in the article that the Cardinals have been linked to Miami outfielder Marcell Ozuna, while the Marlins have shown interest in St. Louis pitchers Jack Flaherty and Sandy Alcantara.
  • A hitter isn’t the only thing the Cardinals are pursuing. Recently, they’ve been linked to Rays closer Alex Colome as a potential means to fill a clear need at the back end of their bullpen. Somewhat intriguingly, Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Colome began following four Cardinals-related accounts on his Instagram on Tuesday night (hat tip to NBC Sports’ Drew Silva). It could be nothing at all; social media activity certainly doesn’t have a strong correlation with transactional news. But while there are no reports of a deal in place, the flurry of follows has piqued curiosity and stirred the rumor mill. At the very least, it gives us another reason to closely monitor an interesting hypothetical.
  • Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are exploring the idea of adding a fourth outfielder through trade or free agency, in order to allow Jordan Luplow to begin the season at the Triple-A level. GM Neal Huntington notes that Luplow “didn’t have a ton of at-bats down there a year ago.” Indeed, Luplow only has 87 career plate appearances at Triple-A, and his .205/.276/.385 major league slash line indicates that his bat could benefit from more development at the minors’ highest level. The 24-year-old Luplow was drafted out of California State University Fresno with the Pittsburgh’s third-round pick; the right-handed outfielder is 24 years old, according to Fangraphs.

Shohei Ohtani Has Sprained UCL In Throwing Elbow

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Newly-signed Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani has a first-degree sprain in his right ulnar collateral ligament, according to medical reports from late November viewed by Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan.  It was reported yesterday by SI’s Tom Verducci that Ohtani received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow in October, which was known to teams pursuing the 23-year-old two-way star.  Ohtani’s agent Nez Balelo said the PRP shot was just “a preventative measure,” though it appears as though the injection was meant to help treat the pain caused by the UCL sprain.

A first-degree sprain is the least-serious type of UCL sprain, though clearly any type of elbow damage is of concern.  Passan also notes that the medical reports state that a “small free body” is floating around Ohtani’s elbow area, close to his UCL.

Angels GM Billy Eppler didn’t express any concern with the report, in a statement to Passan this evening:

“Shohei underwent a thorough physical with MRI scans to both his elbow and his shoulder. Those are scans we conduct whenever we sign a pitcher. Based on the readings of those MRIs, there are not signs of acute trauma in the elbow. It looks consistent with players his age. We are pleased with the results of the physical and we are very happy to have the player.”

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News believes the UCL sprain (along with the PRP injection) was disclosed in the medical records made available to teams.  Furthermore, a scout for an unknown team tells SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo that “we already knew” about the elbow issue.

The news creates even more intrigue over Ohtani’s entrance into North American baseball, as if the unique circumstances of his posting, the near league-wide pursuit for his services, and his attempt to be a legitimately two-way player weren’t already enough.  It should be noted that Ohtani is still roughly a month away from beginning normal baseball activities as a result of minor ankle surgery in October, so it won’t be known until then how his arm is holding up in the aftermath of the PRP injection.  (Passan notes that Ohtani was recently seen playing catch in Japan.)

Some hurlers have been able to continue pitching through even more severe UCL damage, though that is a risky endeavor to say the least, and perhaps not a bet the Angels would want to make on a highly-touted player just beginning his Major League career.  In another tweet, Grant notes that even if Ohtani does require Tommy John surgery, he still represents an enormous bargain for the Angels given his potential value and the relatively low cost they paid to obtain his services.

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