Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani underwent a procedure Tuesday in Los Angeles to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, according to a statement from his agent, Nez Balelo.
He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to “hit without any restrictions come opening day of 2024 and do both (Hit & Pitch) come 2025,” said Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the procedure.
ElAttrache said the ultimate plan for the procedure “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.”
In his statement, Balelo noted that “the final decision and type of procedure was made with a heavy emphasis on the big picture. Shohei wanted to make sure the direction taken gave him every opportunity to hit and pitch for many years to come.”
Ohtani wrote in an Instagram post that “everything went very well.”
He continued, “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. Go Halos!!
Ohtani recently shut down his season as a hitter after an MRI showed lingering irritation in his right oblique; his focus then shifted to treating the torn ulnar collateral ligament that previously ended his season as a pitcher, Angels general manager Perry Minasian said last week.
Ohtani put together another spectacular season and appears to be a lock to win the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award for the second time in three years. He slashed .304/.412/.654 while leading the AL in home runs (44), walks (91) and total bases (325) as a hitter and went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings as a pitcher, striking out 167 batters and issuing 55 walks. Despite pitching and hitting for only about five out of six months, Ohtani’s 9.0 FanGraphs wins above replacement easily leads the majors.