It sounds like Shohei Ohtani is going to return this season as a hitter
By Josh Hill
After losing Shohei Ohtani to a possible Tommy John injury, the Angels might get their dynamic rookie back sooner than expected.
It’s been almost a month since we last saw Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels sensational two-way rookie. He was placed on the DL with an injury that many thought would require Tommy John surgery, thus ending what was the most exciting story in baseball much sooner than anticipated.
After living in fear this month that Ohtani could be out of baseball until 2020, Angels fans finally heard some good news they desperately needed. There’s a very good chance that Ohtani returns this season in a hitting-only role. As it turns out, Ohtani was ready to come back as a hitter almost as soon as he was placed on the DL, the team wanted to see if he could come back as a pitcher as well.
Angels general manager Billy Eppler mentioned as much on Wednesday:
There are two ways to look at this. the first is that this might mean the end of Ohtani as a two-way player. It’s easy to be out for a while and literally get back into the swing of hitting. Pitching is a different beast; it’s a skill you can’t leave alone and then pick back up.
Right now the Angels are in desperate need of a jolt. They sit in third place behind the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, sitting on the outside of the postseason bubble. When Ohtani was healthy, there was little doubt the Angels would be a contending team. Rounding out a deadly combo with Mike Trout, it’s almost lazy to say Los Angeles isn’t good enough to compete without Ohtani — it’s obvious.
Since losing him, Los Angeles has lost all of its buzz, the luster is gone, the swagger is missing. Now we’re living in a world where the Mariners are legitimate threats to catch the Astros if they ever stumble. That should have been the Angels, which is what made the loss of Ohtani so much more brutal.
Getting him back, even if damage has been done, could be what the Angels need to get things back on track