Shohei Ohtani, Heralded as the 'Next Babe Ruth,' Out With an Elbow Injury Leaving Future Uncertain

Shohei Ohtani may very well have worn a Los Angeles Angels uniform for the last time. The elite two-way player only made it 1.1 innings into Wednesday's double header against the Cincinnati Reds following a two week break for arm fatigue. However, Ohtani has since been diagnosed with an UCL tear to his right elbow, leaving him out as pitcher for the rest of the season.

"He has a tear, and he won't pitch the rest of the year," Angels general manager Perry Minasian told reporters on Wednesday. "We're going to get a second opinion, go from there, but it's basically day to day. He's played with this in '18, but with that being said, we'll take it day by day and see where it goes. If anybody can bounce back, it's him."

Although there's a possibility Ohtani may continue hitting for the remainder of the year, the injury now leaves his MLB career hanging in the balance.

The 29-year-old was up for free agency after this season wrapped, and was expected to draw offers as high as $500–$600 million. With a .304 batting average and 44 home runs so far this year—making him widely projected to win his second American League MVP award—Ohtani will still likely command quite a hefty contract.

However, the value and shape of his contract may be drastically affected. Ohtani previously underwent Tommy John surgery for a similar injury back in October 2018. And although he continued hitting for the remainder of that season, the surgery typically requires a 12-to-18-month recovery process. As such, he didn't pitch for the entirety of 2019 and made only two starts in 2020.

If Ohtani's injury requires surgery, that could put him out well into 2025. If he recovers with physical therapy, it may only be a matter of time before his injury resurfaces, essentially making him a "ticking time bomb."

But as Bleacher Report points out, perhaps expecting a player to carry both pitching and hitting is just not feasible. Before coming to the United States to play with the Angels, Ohtani spent just one season, 2016, as a full-time hitting and pitching star with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. Even Babe Ruth, who he's been broadly compared to, only found success as a hitter after his pitching career.

In the short term, it's probably safe to say that the Angels wild-card dreams are dashed. Ohtani's teammate, fellow MVP Mike Trout, also returned to the injured list after just one game this week. But with so many lingering questions hanging in the air, avid baseball fans will be waiting on bated breath to see what will become of baseball's most dynamic player.