Under The Knife 9/18/23

The Ohtani Saga Continues

There’s a lot going on so let’s get right to the injuries:

OHTANI, SP/DH LAA (sprained elbow/strained oblique)

Shohei Ohtani cleared out his locker Friday, in the midst of a homestand, and in the 11th game he’d missed due to an oblique strain. If there was a connection to the announcement related to Anthony Rendon (more below), no one would acknowledge it and on Saturday, none of my sources within spitting distance of the Angels would comment. This came suddenly and unexpectedly.

Then Saturday, the Angels made another unexpected move, pushing Ohtani to the IL and saying it would end his season. This was after some were saying that the Angels’ non-moves were part of a luxury tax avoidance. I don’t know the math on that one and had assumed part of the reason the team was reluctant to IL him was Ohtani’s desire to play and compete for the MVP. If it was and if the medical staff didn’t agree and if, if, if; there’s too many unknowns here, even after Perry Minasian’s Saturday press conference.

Let’s address the oblique strain. It’s a relatively minor concern, just a standard oblique strain that often costs a player at least a couple weeks. That’s where Ohtani is and there’s no indication this will linger past the normal. While Ohtani won’t return and it will look like an extended absence, there’s no reason to factor this in for Ohtani any more than any of the other players that have had similar injuries and returned. The note that Ohtani did this in “an unusual outdoor batting practice” is one the hitting coaches might have to address, but obliques have been epidemic this year. My theory is fatigue is showing up as muscle strains and Ohtani would be doubly affected by this.

Minasian said that Ohtani will have a “procedure” soon. There’s still no indication where, or when, but sources continue to say that Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, is guiding the process and must be closer to a decision at this pace. I would expect the surgery to take place sometime this week and who does it will be a key indication of what is being done and how long it will take Ohtani to come back, wherever that may be.

What we still don’t know is a lot. We don’t know how severe the sprain is. We don’t know which doctor has been chosen, if one has, and we don’t know what procedure he’ll have. A choice may have been made behind the scenes, but as far as I can tell, no one outside of Balelo and maybe Ohtani knows. I can tell you that several of the doctors consulted don’t know.

There was something of a clue, when several reports denoted that Ohtani could have had the procedure as soon as Saturday. The easy read is that Ohtani would stay in Los Angeles, likely with Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Weekend surgery is really, really rare, but possible. Doing it quickly and getting it scheduled outside the normal order is easy. Surgeons like ElAttrache hold some slots for things like this, or Aaron Rodgers, who ElAttrache performed Achilles repair on last week.

However, a couple sources pointed out that planes exist and make nearly anything in the US a same-day possibility. “Put [Ohtani] in a FedEx box to Birmingham,” said one front office type. While Ohtani’s more likely to be on a NetJet than a delivery truck, the point stands. Even surgeons’ long standing preference for early morning surgery would mean barely a delay and would have reporters staking out the regular hotels near hospitals.

We’re left with a continued mystery and while the Angels appear to have fumbled a lot of elements here, I’m not sure they’re looped in on this and if so, it’s a very tight circle. We should get more information soon, as there’s no reason to delay the procedure further. Ohtani’s stated goal of playing on Opening Day depends on doing this as quickly as possible, so my guess is Ohtani will lead UTK on Wednesday (or even a Flash if it’s worthy.) At least as of Sunday, Ohtani was still in the dugout with the team.

Two other notes: while Ohtani is functionally a free agent right now, the Angels are on the hook for his medical care until he signs with another team. That’s not likely to happen soon, but my guess is that Ohtani will do his rehab with the surgeon’s choice rather than with the team. This isn’t unusual, even for the Angels, where Mike Trout has often chosen to use his own therapists.

Also, I’m told that while Nez Balelo has been honest about the process, taking questions in a long media gaggle, he’s hoping not to be transparent. A source tells me his preference would be that nothing comes out about the procedure until he can present it to possible signing teams. I think it will leak long before that, especially if the procedure type is signaled by the surgeon, but there’s a possibility we won’t know the specifics for quite a while.

ANTHONY RENDON, 3B LAA (fractured tibia)

The procedure isn’t the issue. A lot of people texted me Friday saying “five doctors?” and yes, this happens. A decade ago, an MLB AT told me he regularly sent out MRIs to an odd number - 3,5,7 - radiologists for opinions and couldn’t recall a time where he got a unanimous opinion. That Anthony Rendon had a split decision with his bone bruise/stress reaction/tibial fracture isn’t a surprise. It’s common and frankly, the treatment is roughly the same, though taken in degrees. A fracture is a bit more than a stress reaction, in terms of what needs to be done RIGHT NOW, but hey, a walking boot is a walking boot.