Superstar two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani has thrown his last pitch in 2023, as the Angels hurler has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, reported the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher.
Shohei Ohtani has a torn UCL and won’t pitch again this season.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 24, 2023
The injury marks the second time Ohtani has torn his UCL. In 2018 he underwent a successful Tommy John surgery to repair the ligament.
Ohtani started the Angels’ first game of a double header against the Cincinnati Reds Wednesday, but left the mound after throwing only 26 pitches.
Ohtani was back in the lineup as the designated hitter for the night cap despite being diagnosed with the tear between game one and game two, according to Fletcher.
“I think him playing in the second game says a lot about the guy, right?” Angels General Manager Perry Minasian asked reporters. “How much he likes playing, how much his teammates mean to him, this place means to him… pretty, pretty impressive,” he concluded.
Ohtani will get a second opinion. The Angels and Ohtani have not yet made a decision on surgery or whether or not he will continue to hit this season, said Fletcher. (RELATED: Angels’ Shohei Ohtani Had One Of The Greatest Games In History Of MLB With Two Home Runs And 10 Strikeouts)
The heartbreaking news for Angels fans was paired Wednesday night with a near-equally heartbreaking report that their other once-in-a-generation talent Mike Trout is going back on the injured list just one day after coming off of a seven week injury stint, according to Minasian.
Ohtani is playing on a one year, $30 million deal and is slated to hit the open market in free agency this offseason. He was widely expected to garner a massive payout following his historic season, which, with 44 home runs and 167 strikeouts, had some experts labelling him the greatest of all time.