Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani had elbow surgery Tuesday, and his doctor said he anticipates that he will be ready to go as a hitter on Opening Day next season and will return to the bump as a pitcher in 2025.
Ohtani tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on August 23, ending his pitching season. He continued on valiantly as a batter through September 3 until he suffered an oblique strain.
Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache operated Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. ElAttrache performed Tommy John surgery on Ohtani on October 1, 2018. Neither Ohtani nor the team provided specific details on this surgery.
“I had a procedure done on my elbow earlier this morning and everything went very well,” Ohtani said in a post on social media.
“Thank you very much for everyone’s prayers and kind words. It was very unfortunate that I couldn’t finish out the year on the field, but I will be rooting on the boys until the end. I will work as hard as I can and do my best to come back on the diamond stronger than ever.”
Nez Balelo, Ohtani’s agent, issued a statement released by the Angels. Balelo did not go into specifics on the type of surgery.
“The final decision and type of procedure was made with a heavy emphasis on the big picture,” Balelo said. “Shohei wanted to make sure the direction taken gave him every opportunity to hit and pitch for many years to come.”
The 29-year-old Ohtani leads the American League with 44 homers and has driven in 96 RBIs, 8 triples and 20 stolen bases. He was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 167 and walking 55 in 132 innings.
“The ultimate plan after deliberation with Shohei, was to repair the issue at hand and to reinforce the healthy ligament in place while adding viable tissue for the longevity of the elbow,” ElAttrache said in the statement released by the Angels. “I expect full recovery and he’ll be ready to hit without any restrictions come opening day of 2024 and do both [hit and pitch] come 2025.”
Ohtani is eligible for free agency after the Fall Classic. Prior to the elbow injury, there was strong speculation he would get a record contract of $500 million or more.
