Shohei Ohtani trotted out to the mound for the first time in two weeks on Aug. 23 for a start against the Reds as the Angels slip further and further out of the playoff race.
He didn't make it two innings.
After throwing a pitch, Ohtani displayed a bit of discomfort on the mound. Immediately, Angels manager Phil Nevin, Ohtani's translator Ippei Mizuhara, and an Angels trainer came out to talk to Ohtani. After a short conversation, he headed to the clubhouse with what the team called "arm fatigue."
What may have started out as such turned out to be much worse, as Wednesday night general manager Perry Minasian announced Ohtani has a torn UCL and will be shut down from pitching for the rest of the season. Treatment of a torn UCL often involves Tommy John surgery, something Ohtani has had once before.
Ohtani has had a myriad of injuries throughout his career, with some seemingly caused by the fatigue of pitching and hitting over the course of a long season and some just being rotten luck.
MORE: Latest injury updates after Shohei Ohtani suffers torn UCL
Should Ohtani get a second TJS, he would join a list of players that is growing at an alarming rate. Just this season, the Blue Jays' Hyun-jin Ryu came back from a second Tommy John surgery while Jacob deGrom and Shane McClanahan had to undergo it for their second times.
Here's a look at the full injury history of Ohtani, including the 2018 TJS that kept him off the mound in 2019.
Shohei Ohtani injury history
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, 2013: Sprained ankle, cheekbone fracture
As a rookie with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham fighters in 2013, Ohtani missed time with a sprained ankle and a fractured cheekbone, suffered at different points in the season.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, 2017: Ohtani has ankle surgery
Ohtani played much of his NPB career without incident, but he did miss the 2017 World Baseball Classic and was hindered in the 2017 season because of an ankle injury suffered in the 2016 Japan Series.
Ohtani's surgery was a known quantity ahead of his posting, with the ace and slugger saying he wanted to be in "perfect condition" for his MLB debut in 2018, per MLB.com.
2017 offseason: First-degree UCL sprain
Shortly after Ohtani signed with the Angels, elbow issues began to come to a head.
On Dec. 13, five days after signing with the Angels, Ohtani was diagnosed with a first-degree UCL sprain. To treat the injury, Ohtani had a platelet-rich plasma injection.
"The understanding we have is that it's something that's behind him," then-Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, per ESPN. "There's no concern. There are no restrictions. He'll be full go in spring training."
MORE: Will Shohei Ohtani need Tommy John surgery?
Angels, April-June 2018: Blisters on finger
Ohtani was removed from his third MLB start against the Red Sox with a blister on his finger, which flared up again in June against the Royals.
June 2018: Grade 2 UCL sprain
Ohtani was diagnosed with a Grade 2 UCL sprain on June 8, two days after he was removed from the Royals game with the blister.
He was placed on the IL and had it treated with another platelet-rich plasma injection and stem cells. Ohtani missed just under a month before returning as a DH on July 2, but did not pitch again until September, when he threw three innings against the Astros.
"We will monitor that very closely," Scioscia said of Ohtani's return, per ESPN. "We will have a range, but we are going to wait and talk internally to see what he is going to be able to do and see how the game is going."
September 2018: Ohtani gets Tommy John surgery
Following his tumultuous Rookie of the Year campaign, the Angels announced on Sep. 3, 2018 Ohtani would need Tommy John surgery following a doctor's recommendation after an MRI.
"He made a commitment to us, and he trusted us," then-Angels GM Billy Eppler said, per ESPN. "He trusted that we would use him in a two-way role, and we made that commitment. When you commit to somebody, it makes it hard to walk away from them, or it makes it hard to change course on them. Not only are you letting them down, but you're living with the responsibility that comes with committing to somebody."
"He's mentally tough in any situation he's ever in," Scioscia added. "Tonight, he was a hitter. He didn't think about what the future is and what the decision is he's got to make for his elbow. He was out there playing baseball and hitting the ball."
At that point, Eppler discussed the risks of a player like Ohtani.
"One of the things that Shohei does is he throws extremely hard," he said, per ESPN. "If you're going to throw hard for a number of years, and you're going to continue to stress ligaments, you're going to put yourself at risk. If you're going to be a phenom, like Shohei is, and play both ways ... and you're going to hit huge home runs, and throw 100 miles an hour, it's a lot for your body to endure."
The TJS kept Ohtani off the mound for all of 2019 while he recovered. He hit .287/.343/.505 and did not play the field.
MORE: Can Shohei Ohtani still hit with a torn UCL?
September 2019: Ohtani gets shut down for knee surgery
After playing the 2019 season as a DH, Ohtani was shut down three weeks early for surgery to address a bipartite patella.
"This is a congenital issue that affects a small number of the population," Eppler said at the time, per MLB.com. "It’s generally asymptomatic and generally has been asymptomatic in his career, but it’s aggravated him a number of times throughout the season. My understanding is that people who suffer from this condition have a patella that did not fuse at birth."
August 2020: Ohtani suffers a flexor strain
In just his second start after returning to the mound from TJS in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Ohtani experienced discomfort in his arm.
An MRI revealed a flexor strain in his right elbow, which again shut him down from pitching that season.
“I'm seeing that he can,” then-Angels manager Joe Maddon said of Ohtani's ability to be a two-way player after the injury, per The Associated Press. “We've just got to get past the arm maladies and figure that out. But I've seen it. He's just such a high-end arm, and we've seen what he can do in the batter's box. Now maybe it might get to the point where he may choose to do one thing over the other and express that to us. I know he likes to hit. In my mind's eye, he's still going to be able to do this.”
August 2023: Ohtani removed from start vs. Reds with torn UCL
After two historic seasons in 2021 and 2022, Ohtani continued his ethereal career in 2023. He was playing incredibly well, and despite missing some time with blisters, looked largely healthy.
On Aug. 23, however, two weeks after his previous start, Ohtani was removed from a start against the Reds in the second inning with what the team dubbed "arm fatigue."
It was revealed Ohtani had suffered a torn UCL that same night, opening the door for a potential Tommy John surgery.
Ohtani is a pending free agent after this season, and he was retaking the mound for an Angels team that was 10.5 games back of the Mariners for the final wild card spot.
"He has a tear, and he won't pitch the rest of the year," Angels GM Perry Minasian said. "We're going to get a second opinion, go from there, but it's basically day to day."
MORE: What Shohei Ohtani's injury means for upcoming free agency
Shohei Ohtani 2018 Tommy John surgery
Ohtani's 2018 Tommy John surgery is easily the most substantial injury of his career, but UCL problems have plagued him since joining the Angels in 2017.
The writing was on the wall when UCL damage was found after he signed and he was treated with a PRP injection before suffering another sprain in 2018.
Ohtani had Tommy John surgery recommended September 2018 and subsequently had it. He didn't pitch for all of 2019, but he did hit.
"Swinging doesn't affect my elbow in any way," Ohtani said when he first suffered the injury, per ESPN. "I feel like I'm progressing as a hitter right now. I'm getting as many experiences as I can while the games count."
That will hold true again this time around, as Ohtani is expected to stay with the team and continue to hit while the Angels and him determine what's next, per Alden Gonzalez.
As with all TJS aftermath, Ohtani's recovery was long despite him being on the field. He didn't start his next game until July 26 in the COVID-delayed 2020 season.
The Angels had an aggressive trade deadline this year hoping to potentially re-sign Ohtani after this season and make a playoff push. While only Ohtani knows how this factors into that equation, from the outside, it certainly doesn't look good.
