Angels: What does Ohtani’s injury mean for his future?

For the second straight year, Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani underwent season-ending surgery. How does this impact his future?

Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani has left no doubts that he possesses the talent to become an elite two-way player in the MLB.

In his rookie season, he hit an impressive .285/.361/.564 with 22 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in 104 games as a DH. In his 10 starts as a pitcher, Ohtani showed elite stuff. He posted a 4-2 record with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 51.2 innings. Ohtani earned AL Rookie of the Year honors for his 2018 performance.

However, the 25-year-old phenom from Japan has proven to be injury-prone thus far in his young career. Just 5 days after signing with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, it was revealed that Ohtani had a UCL strain in his right elbow. This injury would linger throughout the first half of the 2018 season, eventually landing him on the DL on June 7th.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

He was able to return as a hitter in early July but did not take the mound again until September 2nd. The very next day, doctors revealed new damage to his UCL and recommended Tommy John surgery. Ohtani would finish the season as a designated hitter, but underwent surgery on October 1st, thus keeping him off the mound until 2020.

Ohtani made his return to Angels’ lineup in May of 2019. In 106 games as a DH, Ohtani put up very similar numbers to his rookie year. He slashed .286/.343/.505 with 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. However, when taking a closer look at his performance this season, some of his numbers have noticeably declined. In 58 more plate appearances, Ohtani’s OPS has decreased from a .925 to .848. He also produced significantly fewer runs per plate appearance, posting a 122 wRC+ as opposed to his 151 mark in 2018.

On paper, his offensive production this season should not alarm anyone. He was still an above average, 5-tool middle of the lineup hitter. However, Ohtani’s season ended last week after undergoing surgery to fix a bipartite patella in his left knee.

Angels GM Billy Eppler released this statement via Twitter:

So, how does this new injury affect Shohei Ohtani’s future, especially as a pitcher? Well, it should take him about 3 months to recover from his knee surgery, which should keep him on track to be ready for opening day in 2020. However, this new injury has seriously setback his rehab from Tommy John. Ohtani had been progressing well, but now he will face new obstacles.

At only 25 years old, it is far too early to panic Ohtani’s injury history. While two surgeries in two years is certainly not encouraging, his production has been elite or near-elite every time he has been on the field. We will have to wait and see how he returns as a pitcher since he only gave us a small sample size in 2018.

Nonetheless, Ohtani’s talent is generational. He has the tools to pave the path for future two-way players in the MLB. Since Ohtani came to America, we have seen other two-way players break into the league, such as Michael Lorenzen and Brendan McKay, and the trend seems to only be increasing.

For the sake of major league baseball, let’s hope Ohtani makes a full recovery and plays up to his potential. Hopefully, he will not end up like other players with superstar level talent, whose careers get derailed by injuries (e.g. Yoenis Cespedes). Despite a series of bleak obstacles, the future still appears bright for Shohei Ohtani.