On August 24, the Japanese Shohei Ohtani suffered a torn ligament in his left elbow, which will prevent him from acting as a pitcher for the rest of the season. The possibility even came to appear that the young Japanese would not go up to the mound again.
However, the versatile ballplayer continues to perform well as a hitter and it is not ruled out that he will return to the mound soon, despite the severe injury he suffered towards the end of the season.
Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, assured this Tuesday in an interview for MLB.com that sooner rather than later the Japanese will pitch again in the Major Leagues.
“I have no doubt that he will come back and continue in both positions.as it has done in recent years,” Balelo said.
On the other hand, Ohtani’s agent assured that the player, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, will be a designated hitter in the line up of his next team. “Shohei will be in a team’s lineup next year as a hitter when the bell rings. We are sure”.
As a hitter, Ohtani has a .304 average, with 44 home runs, 34 extra-base hits and 95 RBIs. He being the clear favorite to win the American League MVP award this year.
Inevitable operating room for Ohtani, but he will avoid Tommy John
In 2018 Shohei Ohtani underwent a Tommy John operation, now in 2023 after the injury last August, the Japanese is at risk of undergoing an operation of this type again, although he would do everything to avoid it.
Nez Balelo, the player’s agent, indicated that surgery for Ohtani is almost “inevitable” to heal the torn ligament in his right elbow. However, Still seeking opinions on whether it should be Tommy John surgery. On the other hand, Balelo indicated that this injury occurred in a place in the arm other than the ligament that was repaired with surgery at the end of 2018.
In the event that Ohtani undergoes surgery, he will not be able to pitch during the entire 2024 season. Taking into account that for a pitcher the recovery time from Tommy John surgery is 12 to 18 months. Although for a serious hitter, he could be back in 6 or 8 months.
Keep reading:
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