PT TOMORROW: AL West—Whither Ohtani, the hitter?

Los Angeles Angels

Shohei Ohtani's (P/DH, LAA) loss (Grade 2 UCL sprain in his pitching elbow) raises a ton of questions, both short-term and long. This isn't the first elbow issue for Ohtani; he rehabbed a Grade 1 sprain last year via PCP injections. And despite more of these now and the Angels' insistence that they'll revisit in three weeks for a longer-term call, it's doubtful that Ohtani pitches again in 2018. A better bet is that he'll eventually undergo Tommy John surgery (TJS) for what is now a partially torn ligament—which would shelve him until at least late 2019, and more likely until 2020.

The bigger question now might be how much the injury impacts Ohtani's ability to hit—and whether LAA is willing to delay surgery until its...

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