Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday had elbow surgery and his doctor said he expects the two-way star would be available as a hitter on opening day next season and to return to the mound as a pitcher in 2025.
Ohtani tore the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow on Aug. 23, ending his pitching season. He continued as a batter through Sept. 3 until an oblique strain.
Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Neal ElAttrache operated on Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles.
Photo: AFP
He said in a statement that the sides decided to “reinforce the healthy ligament in place,” suggesting that the UCL was not reconstructed via Tommy John surgery.
ElAttrache also performed Tommy John surgery on Ohtani on Oct. 1, 2018.
“I had a procedure done on my elbow earlier this morning and everything went very well,” Ohtani wrote on Instagram. “Thank you very much for everyone’s prayers and kind words. 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.”
The 29-year-old Ohtani leads the American League with 44 homers and has 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases. He was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 167 and walking 55 in 132 innings.
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