ANAHEIM — Shohei Ohtani’s season is officially over, but the Angels are still holding out hope that his time with the team is not.
The Angels placed Ohtani on the 15-day injured list because of a sore oblique on Saturday, a day after an MRI exam showed continued irritation. General Manager Perry Minasian said on Saturday afternoon that, upon learning that his oblique wouldn’t allow him to play before the end of the season, Ohtani immediately shifted into the mode of preparing for a procedure on the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Minasian said he’s still not sure what that procedure will be or when it will happen.
Minasian said Ohtani believed the procedure might have happened as soon as Saturday, which is why he had his locker cleared out on Friday night. Minasian said the Angels had planned on making the announcement about Ohtani’s status on Saturday, rather than making it “a distraction” during or after Friday’s game.
“It’s nothing malicious,” Minasian said of Ohtani’s quick departure. “There’s no story here. It’s just him getting ready. He’s so focused on, season’s over, I’ve got to get ready for ’24. And that was what his mindset was.”
Minasian added that Ohtani would be back at the ballpark on Saturday and Sunday and for the final six-game homestand, the week of Sept. 25.
Shohei Ohtani is in the Angels dugout tonight. (Luis Rengifo too.) pic.twitter.com/Av26f0bclz
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) September 17, 2023
“I’m sure at some point he’ll go on the field and be in uniform,” Minasian said, adding that he’s unsure about the team’s plans to allow fans to recognize him.
“It says a lot that he plans on being here, especially if he has that procedure,” Minasian said. “He plans to be here that last homestand. He wants to be here. He loves this place. And we love him.”
Ohtani was not available for comment on Saturday afternoon and has not spoken to the media since Aug. 9, following what turned out to be his penultimate game on the mound of the season. It’s unclear if he will speak to the media again before the end of the season.
“He told me that (he plans to be back for the final homestand),” Manager Phil Nevin said. “He likes being here, likes being around his teammates. I think it’s a place for him to be himself. It’ll be nice to have him here that last week and around the guys. We’ve got a lot of young players that can learn, that are learning a lot. And having guys like him and Mike (Trout) and Anthony (Rendon) around makes them that much better.”
The days with Ohtani, 29, in an Angels uniform certainly could be dwindling down. He’s set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and many around the industry expect that he will bolt the Angels for a record-breaking deal – perhaps worth as much as $500 million – and a better chance to win. The Angels have not had a winning season in Ohtani’s six years in Anaheim.
Asked about the chances of re-signing Ohtani, Minasian said: “That would be a question for him. But I think he really enjoys his time here. Obviously, he’s had three of the greatest – if not the greatest – years any player has ever had. I think he enjoys his teammates and the area and the fan base and the organization. There’s a lot of trust and a lot of communication. I hope he’s here for a long time.”
Ohtani’s last three seasons have indeed been arguably the three greatest in MLB history.
Ohtani is expected to win his second American League MVP award in a sensational three-season run, despite missing much of the final month of the season. The two-way star slashed .304/.412/.654 while leading the AL in home runs (44), walks (91) and total bases (325) and went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings as a pitcher, striking out 167 batters with 55 walks. Ohtani’s 9.0 FanGraphs wins above replacement easily leads the majors.
His season on the mound ended after he tore his UCL while he was pitching on Aug. 23. Ever since then it’s been apparent that Ohtani was going to have some type of surgery – perhaps another Tommy John surgery – but neither the team nor Ohtani gave any indication when that would happen.
Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, spoke last week and said Ohtani would have some kind of procedure and that, while he plans on continuing to remain a two-way player, he expects to be ready to at least hit when the 2024 season begins.
With his free agency looming, the Angels haven’t really been involved in the process of what Ohtani and his representatives decide he should have done medically.
“There’s discussions, and once they lock something down, there will be communication,” Minasian said. “Sho and his group will handle that, determine what they wanna do and how they wanna do it, who they wanna do it with, and I respect that. I’ll obviously have that information at some point. But definitely respect his decision.”
After Ohtani suffered the pitching injury, he continued to serve as the DH for a couple of weeks, but that came to an end when he hurt his oblique during batting practice on Sept. 4. Since then, Nevin has consistently said that Ohtani was just day to day because Ohtani had indicated to him that he wanted to try to play. Ohtani was in the lineup on Monday afternoon in Seattle before he was scratched a couple of hours before the first pitch.
As recently as Friday afternoon, Ohtani did a workout in the batting cage in an effort to try to get back in the lineup.
“In Seattle, he was taking massive hacks in the cage,” Minasian said. “He wants to play. That’s what we love about him. He’s somebody that loves playing. He doesn’t take it for granted. He wants to be out there every day and wants to be with his teammates and wants to perform for the fans and for the organization. And I have a lot of respect for that.”
Ohtani went to try to hit in the cage on Friday at around 3 p.m. At around 4 p.m., Minasian said, he determined that he needed another MRI. By the time that was done and the results were back, the game had already begun.
Although reporters noticed Ohtani’s locker after Friday’s game, the Angels declined to provide further details until Saturday.
“He fought it,” Nevin said Saturday. “He tried. He really wanted to play. He’s upset by it. But it just got to a point where, you understand that he was not gonna be able to go again this year.”
If that’s the end to his run with the Angels, it was memorable.
“Shohei’s one of a kind, a great player, a great person,” Minasian said. “I think anybody that knows him, has a chance to talk to him, get around them, he’s a team guy. He’s a pretty special guy. He’s a pretty special player. And it’s been a pleasure to have a chance to get to know him over the last three years and hopefully he’s here for a long time.”
