UTK Flash: Ohtani elbow, Trout IL
Ohtani UCL sprain, Trout back to IL
All in has gone all wrong. After leaving his start after the second inning on Wednesday, Shohei Ohtani had imaging done. The scans showed a sprain of the previously reconstructed UCL in his pitching elbow, though there was no word on the severity. Ohtani will not pitch again this season and will consult with surgeons on the best path forward.
Ohtani could continue to hit, as his elbow injury should not affect his swing. The UCL is not stressed by the motion of batting, as it is with any overhead throwing. Many players have come back or played through a UCL sprain, such as Bryce Harper on both sides of his Tommy John surgery.
There are many options depending on the severity of the sprain. A revision of the reconstruction (a second Tommy John) is possible, as is an InternalBrace repair, again depending on the severity, though repairs on a reconstruction are rare. It’s a new technique and surgeons have been very selective on patients for this procedure. As well, a very small sprain could heal with time and rehab techniques, though it doesn’t take a significant tear to require surgical intervention.
Ohtani had his Tommy John in 2018, less than a year after coming to the US. At the time he signed with the Angels, his entrance physical showed a mild sprain of the UCL and he was treated with a PRP injection. His elbow held up through September, when his UCL ruptured and required surgery, keeping him off the mound until nearly 20 months after the surgery, largely because of the timing of the 2020 season. It had no discernible effect on his hitting in 2019 or early in the 2020 season.
The course this takes will certainly affect Ohtani’s value on the open market. If a revision or even repair is needed, Ohtani might not pitch through the 2024 season. That would make him functionally just a DH, but Aaron Judge did pretty well with his free agency last off-season. Add in that Tommy John (if needed) is predictable, even in revision, and that Ohtani is likely to pitch again, at a high level, wherever he signs, if not before 2025.
As well, the Angels pushed Mike Trout back to the IL. There’s no official word on the reason, but coming just two games after his activation from hamate hook removal, it’s reasonable to believe that the pain Trout admitted having with swinging makes less sense to play with now that Ohtani is down. Essentially, the Angels’ context change makes it smarter to sit Trout, at least until the admitted pain has subsided, if at all this season.
More info to come as facts emerge, but let me share with you what I wrote earlier this evening for Friday’s normal UTK:
“Already on a special schedule and a couple years post-Tommy John surgery, the Angels are going to have to make a hard look at Ohtani and how to best use him in September. I know, they’re “all in” but at some point they’re going to realize they’re not in the playoffs. While Ohtani’s two-way mastery is unmatched in the history of baseball, might they be better to shut down Ohtani (P) and see whether that can help Ohtani (DH) make a run at 62? At 44 homers and a month to go, the ticket sales and national attention that Aaron Judge added last year would have to look pretty good to a team like the Angels.”
I guess it’s too late for that, or it may simply be enforced. We’ve likely seen the end of a unicorn season, largely because we couldn’t keep that unicorn, or most pitchers, healthy through a season of baseball.