Angels' Shohei Ohtani To Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery
ANAHEIM (CBSLA) -- The Angels' star two-way player Shohei Ohtani will be shut down for the season with knee surgery.
Billy Epler told reporters that Ohtani will undergo the surgery Friday.
Recovery time for Ohtani's left knee will be approximately eight to 12 weeks, the team said.
Ohtani, one of baseball's emerging young stars who can pitch shutout ball and hit towering home runs, has already been dealing with a damaged ligament in his right elbow.
The AL 2018 Rookie of the Year and fan favorite underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2018 to repair the ligament. It takes pitchers anywhere from 12-18 months (and sometimes longer) to fully recover from TJ.
The damaged ligament didn't affect Ohtani -- nicknamed "Sho Time" -- at the plate and the team said his rehab to return to the mound is on schedule.
Through his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani told Angels.com "I am disappointed at the fact that I'm not going to be able to pitch next season, but I'm trying to make positives out of the negatives. Normal players, guys that only pitch or hit, they wouldn't be able to play at all next season, but fortunately, I have the luxury of being able to play as a hitter next season. I'm just trying to take positive stuff out of that and try to help the team win as many games as possible as a hitter."