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Shohei Ohtani, Anaheim Angels pitcher and designated hitter, has a grade two UCL sprain which has resulted in him landing on the disabled list. The Angels are saying he did a platelet-rich plasma treatment and stem cell injection yesterday, and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
This is, obviously, bad news for the Angels. The best case scenario would seem to be that Ohtani responds to treatment, does a rest and rehab stint, and would be back maybe in August. The worst case scenario would be that he needs Tommy John surgery, which would likely sideline Ohtani through 2019 as a pitcher, though he could come back earlier in 2019 as a DH.
The 23 year old signed with the Angels this past offseason after being posted by his Japanese League team, and was the subject of an intense pursuit among most of MLB, with the Texas Rangers being one of the finalists prior to his choosing the Angels. He has a .289/.372/.535 slash line as a hitter this season in 129 plate appearances, and a 3.10 ERA in 49.1 IP in 9 starts as a pitcher.
Right after Ohtani signed with the Angels, Jeff Passan wrote that Ohtani had a damaged UCL, and had undergone PRP treatment in October, 2017, to treat it. Passan was subjected to a certain amount of criticism for reporting that, although it was indicated that all the teams pursuing Ohtani knew about the condition of his UCL.