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The news that we fear since Shohei Ohtani landed on the disabled list in early June has arrived. The Los Angeles Angels tell the two-way rookie star that he needs surgery from Tommy John:
Shohei Ohtani underwent an MRI on his right elbow earlier today. Imaging revealed new damage to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Based on these findings, UCL reconstruction surgery is the recommended care plan. Additional information will be provided as appropriate.
– Angels (@Angels) September 5, 2018
The decision is now in the hands of Ohtani. For now, he will continue to hit. He was in training on Wednesday in Texas as DH, beating third and continuing his quest for the Rookie of the Year, and all he's done – talking about a talent for drama – has been 4 in 4 with a march, a stolen base and his 17th and 18th home runs, bringing his line to .287 / .367 / .579. If he had enough playing time to qualify for the rankings, he would rank fifth in the AHL as a percentage of the loss. Unbelievable.
OH. MY. Tani.
Shohei Ohtani just can not be stopped! pic.twitter.com/lLkew7f5zg
– FOX Sports West (@ FoxSportsWest) September 6, 2018
Ohtani made his first appearance since June, Sunday night, against the Astros, when his velocity suddenly dropped in the 90 in the third inning, and he was retired after 49 shots.
"One of the things that Shohei does is that it throws out extremely loudly," Chief Executive Billy Eppler told reporters Wednesday. "If you have to put in efforts for several years, and you're going to continue to stress the ligaments, you're going to put yourself at risk, if you want to be a phenomenon, like Shohei is, and play back and forth. .. and you're going to hit huge home runs and run 100 miles at the hour, that's a lot for your body to endure. "
From the outside, it seems that the Angels have handled this situation as best as they could. When Ohtani landed on the DL on June 8, they were 36-28 and in the heat of the playoff race, just 4.5 games away from the Mariners. It made sense to rest Ohtani, continue to let him hit (he came back as a hitter on July 3) and hope that he will be able to help on the mound later in the season. It did not work. The Angels fell out of the playoffs, scoring 32-44 after Ohtani went on the DL, and Ohtani was not able to play as a pitcher.
A few hours before two-point star Shohei Ohtani struck twice against Texas on Wednesday, the Angels said he had suffered further damage in his elbow and was at risk of being operated on by Tommy John.
Until now, the two-way sensation lives up to Ruthenian expectations. But how will he continue? We go back to Japan in search of the surprising answer.
Do the angels use Ohtani correctly? Until now, the planets have aligned themselves on L.A. and its two-way star.
2 related
It was the right decision to wait before having Tommy John. Had Ohtani been operated on in June, he would not have been able to hit the rest of the season. And he probably would have missed the entire 2019 season as a pitcher. Given the usual schedule of returning throwers 12 to 16 months after Tommy John's intervention, Ohtani could have returned late in the 2019 season, but assuming the Angels would be cautious, that would hardly be a guarantee and the 'lead. coming back in September for a few departures would make no sense. He probably would not have played in the majors in 2019, that he was operated on in June, now or in the season. (Eppler said he and Ohtani will discuss options on Monday.)
Even though he is operated on, Ohtani should be able to strike in 2019. As Stephania Bell wrote in June:
Note that the 14-month postoperative chronology refers to a return to pitch. But what about hitting? For the same reason, Ohtani could potentially remain on the list as a hitter before the surgery, he could also return earlier on the list as a hitter after the surgery. Position players return more quickly to their level of pre-traumatic involvement after Tommy John's intervention than pitchers. Since their positional requirements place less stress on the elbow, they are specifically allowed to resume their strikes as early as six months.
All this leads to the question: what is the future of Ohtani? Eppler said the team still considers him a two-way player. After all, this guarantee was part of the reason why Ohtani chose to sign with the Angels in the first place. Eppler did not anticipate the team's plans for Ohtani in 2019, but a six-month schedule after October's surgery means that Ohtani could return with the Angels as a hitter in late April or early May.
We know that Ohtani can play both sides of the ball, but we do not know if his player staying in both directions maximizes his value. During the rotation of the angels, Ohtani started – at least – once a week (he had at least six days rest between departures and sometimes more) and had to take rest days before and after his departure. This meant that he was neither a full-time pitcher nor a full-time hitter. As Joe Sheehan tweeted on Wednesday, "That's what I wrote in April, at the top of Ohtanimania, I think that's the case." I'm sure Shohei Ohtani is a five-win pitcher and I do not know if we're taking those players and turning them into P / DH's four wins. "
Joe was there. Ohtani has earned around 2.0 WAR as a hitter so far. Double that to a number of times full of plates and place it in the outer field, and you look at a 5-WAR player – higher than he is a more defender (he has the speed to be a very good player ). He is only 23 years old and possesses a great raw power. His production on the set is not a coincidence.
Shohei Ohtani and Babe Ruth are the only players with 50 IP and 15 HR in the same season.
The speed of 96.7 MPH average fast Ohtani ball this season is the 4th highest among the throwers with 300+ fastballs thrown this season (Stanek, Severino, Syndergaard). pic.twitter.com/ank2pdbBC3
– ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 5, 2018
During his 51 2/3 innings as a pitcher, Ohtani was worth 1.2 WARs. Give him 200 innings, and you're close to a 5-WAR launcher, with obvious benefits for even more (if you're healthy, of course). Instead, it will end up giving 3 to 4 wins worth to the Angels this season. It's still an important part of any list, but it proves the difficulty of playing both ways and explains why no one has been able to do it since Babe Ruth, 100 years ago.
The other problem for Arte Moreno, owner of Eppler and Angels: Mike Trout is under contract for two more seasons. Once this season is over, the Angels will have made the playoffs once in seven full seasons. The Angels finished 21 games in 2016, 21 in 2017 and will probably finish more than 21 games in 2018. The Astros are not likely to break next season.
So … well, Alden Gonzalez from ESPN wrote:
Eppler was asked, again, he would consider trading probably the best player in the game to rebuild the list.
"Uh, yes," Eppler said, "we will not trade Mike Trout."
Eppler added that his goal is to "form a team in the running next season". But he'll probably have to do it without Ohtani, at least as a starting pitcher.
Is it possible for angels to figure out how to build a winner around trout? The problem is not just pitching, even though everyone quotes the wounds in the rotation. The angels are seventh in the AL in the races scored and seventh in the allowed races. The attack, even with Trout and Ohtani, is just as mediocre as the pitch / defense.
The Angels need a third baseman, a second baseman (maybe Zack Cozart returns to fill one of these places next year) and, yes, a first baseman. Unfortunately, Albert Pujols with his $ 28 million contract must probably play somewhere. The point here: they need Ohtani as a hitter as much as they need him as pitcher.
I would not trade trout either. Extracting fair value for himself with only two years of contract – is almost impossible. Eppler will simply have to be creative to find ways to build a better list around his superstar. And step # 1 could convince Shohei Ohtani to stay on one side of the ball.
And the answer could be: Babe Ruth gave up on throwing.
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