Angels star Shohei Ohtani will miss the remainder of the season because of a right oblique muscle injury he has been nursing for nearly two weeks, the Angels announced Saturday.
Ohtani, who is set to become a free agent after the World Series and might have played in his final game with the Angels, was placed on the 10-day injured list. The announcement comes a day after reporters covering Friday night’s game between the Angels and Detroit Tigers noticed most of the items in Ohtani’s clubhouse locker had been removed.
The 2021 American League MVP sustained the injury after an awkward swing in batting practice on Sept. 4. After the swing, Ohtani immediately headed to the clubhouse and did not appear in the dugout during the game, beginning a string of 11 consecutive games missed. Ohtani was briefly listed in the starting lineup against the Seattle Mariners on Monday before being scratched. Before this stretch, Ohtani had missed two games this season.
Shortly before the injury, Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, provided an optimistic outlook about the pitcher and his treatment options for the torn ulnar collateral ligament he sustained last month. Balelo said it was “inevitable” that Ohtani would have to undergo a procedure of some kind for his torn UCL. He also said he was confident Ohtani could play throughout the 2024 season as a designated hitter.
Ohtani was in the Angel Stadium clubhouse before Friday’s loss. Before the lineup was revealed, Angels manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani was going through his routine to determine whether he would be available to play. When asked whether Ohtani wanted to play, Nevin said: “He’s always wanted to play.”
After the game, Ohtani’s clubhouse locker was mostly empty. All of his cleats and sneakers were gone as were small personal items he received from friends and teammates. What remained was a bottle of cologne, a couple of Angels shirts, an Angels toiletries bag, a pair of socks, his Seattle All-Star Game duffle bag — that appeared to be packed — and the dust marks left behind by objects that had held their place for so long.
Ohtani’s water jug was in the garbage.
Even after missing the previous 11 games, Ohtani was second in the majors in on-base-plus-slugging rate (1.066) and was third in home runs (44).
