![\"Shohei](\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/oh-jph1k-1.jpg\" "\\"Shohei")
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Shohei Ohtani will be placed on the Los Angeles Angels\u2019 disabled list with a sprained elbow ligament, potentially derailing the two-way sensation\u2019s remarkable rookie season. <\/p>\n
Angels general manager Billy Eppler announced the injury Friday before his club opened a road trip in Minnesota. The Angels are unsure about the severity of Ohtani\u2019s injury, but the Japanese right-hander and designated hitter won\u2019t throw another ball before doctors re-evaluate him in three weeks. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just going to take every day as it comes and put him on this course of recovery and strengthening for the next three weeks, and then deal with what we\u2019ve got to deal with in three weeks\u2019 time,\u201d Eppler said. <\/p>\n
Ohtani left his last pitching start after four innings Wednesday due to the reoccurrence of a blister on his pitching fingers. Eppler said that\u2019s when the Angels got their first indication Ohtani\u2019s elbow ligament might be distressed. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs the game adrenaline wore off, he said, \u2019My elbow is getting a little stiff,\u201d\u2019 Eppler said. <\/p>\n
Ohtani, who will turn 24 years old next month, underwent injections of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells Thursday in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n
The Angels said Ohtani\u2019s ulnar collateral ligament has a Grade 2 sprain, which typically indicates some degree of damage, but not a complete tear. Ohtani\u2019s injury doesn\u2019t always require surgery, while Grade 3 sprains are usually repaired by Tommy John surgery. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that he can (avoid Tommy John surgery),\u201d Eppler said, \u201cthat this is completely treatable with the biologic prescription that the doctors recommend.\u201d <\/p>\n
Yahoo Sports reported last December that Ohtani had a Grade 1 sprain of his UCL, but Eppler said at the time that there were \u201cno signs of acute trauma\u201d in the ligament. Ohtani also had a PRP injection last October. <\/p>\n
Ohtani is 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA in his debut North American season, getting 61 strikeouts with a dazzling mix of 100-mph fastballs and precipitous breaking pitches \u2014 including a vicious splitter, a pitch which typically puts significant stress on a pitcher\u2019s ligaments. The Angels\u2019 opponents are batting just .202 in his nine starts. <\/p>\n
Ohtani also is batting .289 with six homers and 20 RBIs as baseball\u2019s most successful two-way player in decades. The designated hitter had cooled off slightly after an impressive start at the plate, batting .257 with two homers since April. <\/p>\n
Eppler acknowledged that if Ohtani was only a hitter, he \u201cprobably\u201d would be able to keep playing with such an injury. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s not his circumstance, and that\u2019s not how we want to utilize the player,\u201d Eppler said. \u201cIt was determined that any unique swing or variability (in Ohtani\u2019s elbow) could impose some small percentage increase in risk, so that\u2019s why we\u2019re going to give it the three-week time period right now to assess, and then make a determination at that time.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Angels have attempted to keep Ohtani fresh by giving him at least a week of mound rest between his pitching starts, adhering to a disciplined plan drawn up by Eppler. While Ohtani was eager for more playing time, the Angels didn\u2019t want to rush Ohtani into a frantic pace in his first big-league season. <\/p>\n
Any long-term injury for Ohtani could be crushing to the Angels (35-28), who are trying to keep pace in the high-powered AL West race with Seattle and Houston. They have won four straight and five of six heading into the opener of their nine-game road trip against the Twins. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shohei Ohtani will be placed on the Los Angeles Angels\u2019 disabled list with a sprained elbow ligament, potentially derailing the two-way sensation\u2019s remarkable rookie season. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":458477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=458475"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458480,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458475\/revisions\/458480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/458477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=458475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=458475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=458475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}