Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani will undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery next week, days after the 2018 regular season ends. Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the procedure in Los Angeles, the Angels announced Tuesday afternoon.
Doctors recommended Ohtani undergo Tommy John surgery earlier this month. Ohtani already had spent time on the disabled list in June nursing a sprained UCL. He returned to hitting in early July after treating the injury with a platelet-rich plasma injection and an injection of stem cells.
But when he returned to a major league mound Sept. 2 in Houston, Ohtani only lasted 21/3 innings. He allowed a two-run home run to George Springer in the third inning of his start, retired the Astros' next batter and was removed from the game. Days later, an MRI revealed new damage to the ligament.
Ohtani, who was not immediately made available to media, was in the lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. After launching the hardest-hit home run of his career in the Angels' win Monday night, Ohtani was batting .280 with a .925 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 99 games. His 21 homers rank fourth among American League rookies.
Meanwhile, his 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 512/3 innings as a pitcher had helped him accumulate a wins above replacement (WAR) of 1.2, according to Baseball-Reference's version of the statistic.
Ohtani is expected to keep his role as a key cog of the Angels' offense next season. His return to the batting lineup will hinge on his progress in the recovery process; however, he will not be able to pitch competitively until 2020.
"I think we knew he was leaning towards it but as far as exactly when, it was just really in the last couple days when he made the decision to go to Dr. ElAttrache and set a date for it," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We never discussed it. We let the medical staff discuss that and I knew Shohei was leaning towards that.
"I think that he put all his focus into hitting once he knew he wasn't going to be pitching this year. ... I think he's at peace with it and he's focused on hitting."
