(Anaheim) Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani will miss the rest of the season with an oblique muscle injury.
Additionally, the right-handed pitcher will soon undergo surgery for a torn ligament in his right elbow, the Angels said.
Ohtani’s name was placed on the ten-day injured list. He hasn’t played since Sept. 3 because of an injury and his pitching season ended Aug. 23 after a torn elbow ligament.
The two injuries ended one of the most remarkable seasons in major league baseball history.
His statistics as a hitter and pitcher made him one of the favorites to win, for the second time in three years, the title of his team’s most valuable player in the American League.
They also sparked speculation that he could get a contract worth $500 million or more as a free agent this offseason.
The 29-year-old Japanese native set career highs with a .304 batting average and a combined on-base and power rating of 1.066.
He leads the American League with 44 home runs and 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases on a team that entered Saturday with a 68-80 record and is on the verge of an eighth straight losing season.
On the mound, Ohtani finished the campaign with a 10-5 record and a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts. In 132 innings of work, he recorded 167 strikeouts and allowed 55 walks.
It is not yet known whether the elbow operation will be Tommy-John type.
Ohtani underwent this type of intervention on day 1er October 2018.
He returned to the game as a pinch-hitter the following May 7, and to the mound on July 26, 2020, during a campaign delayed by the pandemic. In his return as a pitcher, he did not strike out a batter, had just five strikeouts on August 2, and left with a forearm strain that prevented him from pitching until 2021.
Since then, he has a 34-16 record with a 2.84 ERA in 74 starts.
