Shohei Ohtani Out for Season With Oblique Injury; Reportedly to Have Elbow Surgery

Shohei Ohtani's 2023 season is officially over.

The Los Angeles Angels announced on Saturday they have placed the three-time All-Star on the injured list with an oblique injury.

Per ESPN's Buster Olney (h/t Alden González of ESPN.com), Ohtani is expected to have surgery "as soon as possible" for the torn UCL in his right elbow.

The 29-year-old hasn't publicly announced if he will undergo Tommy John surgery or try an alternate method to correct the injury since being diagnosed with a torn UCL on Aug. 23.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian said the decision to put Ohtani on the injured list came after an MRI of his oblique revealed he wouldn't heal in time to play before the end of the season.

Minasian added Ohtani will be back with the team for their remaining home games. The Angels have a six-game road trip starting Monday before coming back to Los Angeles for the final six games of the season starting on Sept. 25.

Ohtani originally injured his oblique while going through batting practice on Sept. 4 prior to a game against the Baltimore Orioles. He was in the original lineup from Angels manager Phil Nevin on Sept. 11 but was scratched after going through his pregame workout.

There was some confusion involving Ohtani after the Angels' 11-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.

MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger noted Ohtani's locker was cleared out with a "large bag packed in front of it" following the game, but the Angels didn't make any official comment at the time.

Per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, it's usually standard practice for a player's belongings to be cleared out of their locker if they were done for the season, but the "normal timeline" is for that to happen after an official announcement from the team and/or player.

Ohtani previously had Tommy John surgery in Sept. 2018 that kept him out of the Angels lineup for the first 34 games of the 2019 season. He didn't pitch in a game again until the 2020 season.

There is going to be a lot of attention on what the Angels and/or Ohtani might say on Saturday because of what it could mean for his future.

Ohtani is set to become a free agent this offseason for the first time in his career. Even with the concerns about his elbow and long-term viability as a two-way player, there's still some expectation he could sign the richest contract in MLB history because of his value as a hitter and marketing tool for teams.

Even though Ohtani will miss the final 24 games this season now that he's been shut down, he's still the heavy favorite to win his second AL MVP award in the past three years. He set career-highs in batting average (.304), on-base percentage (.412), slugging percentage (.654) and homers (44) in 135 games as a hitter.

Ohtani also posted a 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 167 strikeouts over 132 innings in 23 starts on the mound.