Sitting in front of what he called a “record” crowd of reporters in the visitor’s dugout at Citi Field on Saturday, Angels general manager Perry Minasian explained that it was Shohei Ohtani’s decision not to have an MRI exam done after he had some cramping in his pitching hand and before he tore his right UCL.
“The imaging was offered earlier … and him and his representation [agent Nez Balelo] turned it down,” Minasian said. “And I understand why. It was a cramp in his finger and they didn’t believe it warranted imaging.”
Ohtani left a start on Aug. 4 against the Mariners after four innings due to finger cramping, then left his start in the opener of a doubleheader Wednesday against the Reds with a torn UCL (an elbow injury that generally requires Tommy John surgery for pitchers).
He has continued in the lineup as the Angels’ designated hitter, but the two-way superstar will be prevented from pitching for the foreseeable future, which could affect his free agency this winter.
There were suggestions the UCL tear could have been prevented had Ohtani gotten an MRI exam, which might have shown that the elbow was stressed.
But Minasian said he didn’t believe the cramping was related to the eventual tear, and that in any case, “you normally wouldn’t image a finger cramp.”
Minasian was short on the specifics of Ohtani’s injury, declining to say what grade the tear is, or whether the right-hander will seek a second opinion on his elbow.
He did say, however, that the tear is not identical to Ohtani’s first torn UCL in 2018.
“The tear being in a different place, it’s different symptoms,” Minasian said. “So it didn’t feel like it did, as far as the tear goes, when it happened in ’18. So I think that’s part of it, too.
“Our managers want to communicate with our players. We trust our players. I think obviously, this is an unfortunate incident and something that nobody wants to happen. But injuries are part of baseball. They’re going to happen.”
Whether Ohtani will get Tommy John surgery or will seek to heal the tear through rest (a la Masahiro Tanaka in his early days with the Yankees) is not yet clear.
He has yet to speak publicly since the injury.
Ohtani batted second on Saturday against the Mets.
The AL MVP favorite, Ohtani came into the game leading MLB in a slew of offensive categories, including home runs {44), giving him an outside shot at 60.
“I said this before and I’ll say it again: If there’s anybody that can come back and be what they were, or even better than what they were, I would not bet against this guy,” Minasian said.
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