Angels have no reason to bring Shohei Ohtani back this year

The Los Angeles Angels could bring Shohei Ohtani back to the mound this year, but should they?

For two months this season, two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani took the baseball world by storm. The Los Angeles Angels rookie was doing things the league had not seen since the days of Babe Ruth — and that’s not an exaggeration.

Making an attempt to become the first viable two-way player since the Roaring 20s, Ohtani hit .283/.365/.522 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 45 games and a 4-1 record, 3.10 ERA and 11.1 strikeouts per nine in nine starts on the mound.

Then, disaster.

It started with the Angels pulling Ohtani from a much-anticipated matchup with countryman Masahiro Tanaka in Yankee Stadium, ramped up into full-blown rumors that Tommy John surgery was coming, before being backed off slightly to a more minor elbow issue.

Either way, the runaway hype train that was building behind Ohtani was quickly brought to a screeching halt.

Ohtani has been limited to DH duty after missing most of June while rehabbing his elbow. Now, it appears that a return to the mound could actually be in the cards before the end of the season.

The buildup to Ohtani’s debut in the big leagues was one of the most intriguing since Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant were arriving in The Show. After much consternation over his spring training struggles, Ohtani more than delivered.

He showed he was the real deal, blasting dongs and piling up strikeouts. It’s understandable that the Angels want to see him back at full power as soon as possible.

Ohtani can begin throwing, but allowing him to throw another pitch in an MLB game this year would be a huge mistake for the Angels. There is no reason to risk such an immense talent on what figure to be meaningless games in September.

Only bad things can happen if Ohtani ramps back up to full effort before the end of the year. There is no downside to waiting until next season for a return to the mound.

After a hot start to the season that had everyone thinking this would finally be the year the Angels didn’t waste another epic year of Mike Trout, things have collapsed around the superstar.

There will be no playoffs for the American League side of Los Angeles, and a team that has already watched Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, Tyler Skaggs and Matt Shoemaker struggle to get through a full season has no reason to risk it.

With better luck for the four starters mentioned in the previous sentence, Trout may have already played his first games in the World Series.

There is no mistaking the fact that Ohtani is a once-in-a-generation talent. He has already blown past the impossibly high expectations that followed him across the Pacific Ocean from Japan.

The Angels were already given a ridiculous gift of Ohtani’s services for the league minimum until arbitration kicks in.

The 24-year-old has already proven the hype was for real, but the rest of this season should be spent focusing on his hitting, where there are more questions about his long-term potential. Ohtani has hit just .220/.333/.366 over his last 50 plate appearances with 17 strikeouts, after all.

The Angels must proceed with extreme caution here. Continue allowing Ohtani to hit as much as possible, limiting Albert Pujols’ plate appearances if need be. Bring the arm along as slowly. Ohtani’s future does not have to take a hit from being away from the mound.

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That’s the true beauty of being a two-way player, but for the rest of the 2018 season, the best course of action is to limit him to only one way of action.