LOS ANGELES _ The most intriguing season in a century has come to an unfortunate end. Shohei Ohtani is expected to undergo elbow ligament-replacement surgery, putting his career as a pitcher on hold until the 2020 season.
No player has been as successful hitting and pitching since Babe Ruth in 1919. The Angels said in a statement Wednesday their rookie sensation has new damage in his ulnar collateral ligament, and he has been advised to undergo the procedure popularly known as Tommy John surgery.
Ohtani was diagnosed with a torn ligament in June, but doctors opted to try to repair it with injections of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells. Ohtani returned to the mound on Sunday, but his velocity dropped precipitously in the third inning and the Angels said an MRI examination Wednesday revealed the ligament had sustained additional damage.
Once doctors had cleared him to return to pitching, the Angels preferred that Ohtani test the healing of his elbow before the season ended rather than rest the elbow until next spring. The surgery generally requires 12 to 16 months of rehabilitation.
By getting the surgery now, Ohtani would be expected to return to pitching for the start of the 2020 season. Had Ohtani waited until next spring to discover the ligament had not healed, surgery then would have kept him out for much if not all of the 2020 season.
It is unclear when Ohtani might have the surgery and whether he will continue to hit until then. He was in the Angels' starting lineup for Wednesday night's game in Texas.
Ohtani has been the Angels' second-most effective hitter this season after Mike Trout.
Ohtani, 24, has batted .276 with 16 home runs in 81 games. As a pitcher, he went 4-2 with a 3.31 earned-run average in 10 starts and 63 strikeouts in 52 innings.
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