My gosh, he really might be made of iron. Shohei Ohtani mighty actually not be done for the year based on reports that came out Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Los Angeles Angels contest against the Baltimore Orioles, set to go at 6:38 p.m. West Coast time.
Days ago, Ohtani experienced forearm tightness when he was taking batting practice and was a scratch from the team's lineup.
So, what's the deal with Ohtani's status for Wednesday night's game?
Is Shohei Ohtani playing tonight, September 6?
According to Rhett Bollinger, the Angels do not have a lineup out as of 3:35 p.m. PT. Ohtani is going to go through batting practice and see how he feels. There's a chance he plays tonight.
After he was scratched from the lineup a few days ago, Ohtani's agent spoke for him and addressed the star two-way player's UCL injury and what his plans are. The talk seemed to indicate Ohtani's season was over. If nothing else, there's very little to play for with the Angels all but eliminated from the MLB playoff race and continuing to wave their white flag more and more every day.
Evidently, Ohtani doesn't care. He still wants to play.
Ohtani will get some sort of medical treatment, but Tommy John, the generally prescribed surgery for pitchers with torn ACL, is not a guarantee. Other things that could be considered are (but aren't limited to) stem cell treatments or InternalBrace, which San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy just got done on his torn UCL.
The issue with Tommy John is the lengthy recovery time. Ohtani could DH next season if he gets Tommy John, but likely won't be able to pitch until 2025 if he goes that route.
