Visits: 4
ARLINGTON, Tex. — The Los Angeles Angels said on Wednesday that Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese two-way star, had new damage in his pitching elbow and that Tommy John surgery had been recommended for him.
The Angels said Ohtani, who pitches right-handed and bats as a lefty, had a magnetic resonance imaging exam on Wednesday in Texas that revealed the problem in his ulnar collateral ligament.
Ohtani had been scheduled to throw a light bullpen session. He was still in the Angels’ lineup as the designated hitter for their series finale against the Rangers.
A 24-year-old M.L.B. rookie, Ohtani was diagnosed with a sprained U.C.L. after a start on June 6 and was treated with a platelet-rich plasma injection and an injection of stem cells. He was hitting again in early July, and returned to the mound with a start Sunday in Houston.
Ohtani lasted only two and a third innings in the start Sunday, when he had a drastic drop in velocity during the game. That was his 10th pitching start of the season, and he ended with a 4-2 record and a 3.31 earned run average. At the plate as of Tuesday, Ohtani had a .276 batting average with 16 home runs and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .903.