ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani will miss the remainder of the season with an oblique injury, the team announced.
Ohtani was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Saturday. He has not played since September 3 due to an oblique injury, but his pitching season ended for a month on August 23 Tear in the elbow ligament.
The two injuries ended one of the most impressive major league seasons as a hitter and pitcher and made him the favorite to win his second American League MVP title in three years. There was also speculation that a contract worth more than $500 million awaited him in free agency.
The 29-year-old posted a career batting average of .304 and an OPS of 1.066. He leads the American League with 44 home runs and also has 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases for the Angels, who entered the day with a 68-80 record and entered their eighth straight losing season.
Ohtani was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts, recording 167 strikeouts and 55 walks in 132 innings. Ohtani and the Angels have not said whether he will need a second Tommy John surgery.
Ohtani underwent his first such surgery on October 1, 2018, performed by Los Angeles Dodgers head physician Neal ElAttrache. He returned to bat on May 7 of the following year and to the mound on July 26, 2020, in the pandemic-delayed season. He did not give up a batter in his return and had five outs on August 2 before leaving with a forearm strain that did not allow him to pitch until 2021.
Since then, he has gone 34-16, with a 2.8 ERA in 74 starts.
Almost all of his personal items were missing from Ohtani’s locker and the adjacent compartment after Friday’s game. A bag with the 2023 All-Star Game logo sat in front of his compartment where his sneakers normally hung, and only a few jerseys were left hanging.
Nearly 30 minutes after reporters were allowed into the locker room and noticed the absence of Ohtani’s possessions, the team spokesman said they would provide more information Saturday.
