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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani underwent an MRI on Friday afternoon that showed lingering irritation in his right oblique, prompting him to shut down his season as a hitter and shift his focus to treating the torn ulnar collateral ligament that previously ended his season as a pitcher, Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian said Saturday.

“I don’t have details on the procedure,” Minasian said, “but obviously he wants to get that as quick as he can and start getting ready for ’24.”

Ohtani, who’ll be a free agent at season’s end, plans on continuing to hit and pitch down the road, and his agent, Nez Balelo of CAA, previously said he will be ready to at least hit “when the bell rings” at the start of the 2024 season.

Ohtani could use platelet-rich plasma and stem-cell therapy to treat the tear in his right UCL, but it seems more likely that he’ll go the surgical route, either with Tommy John surgery or an internal bracing procedure or some combination of both. Any invasive procedure would probably rule out Ohtani as a pitcher in 2024.

“Shohei — he’s one of a kind,” Minasian said. “Great player, great person. I think anybody that knows him, has a chance to talk to him, be around him — he’s a team guy. He’s a pretty special guy, he’s a pretty special player, and it’s been a pleasure to get to know him these last three years and hopefully he’s here for a long time.”

Ohtani, 29, suffered an oblique strain during a rare session of outdoor batting practice on Sept. 4 and proceeded to miss the next 11 games. He left Angel Stadium at around 4 p.m. PT on Friday to undergo an MRI, Minasian said, then received his results early in the Angels’ ensuing game against the Detroit Tigers. Media members entered the home clubhouse at Angel Stadium later that night to find that Ohtani’s locker had been mostly cleared out, creating a stir on social media that Minasian tried his best to diffuse during his news conference on Saturday.

“I think in his mind he thought there was a possibility for a procedure today, and that’s why he packed,” Minasian said. “Nothing malicious. There’s no story here. He’s so focused on, ‘Season’s over, I gotta get ready for ’24,’ and that was what his mindset was. He’s planning on being here the last homestand. He’s going to be here today, tomorrow.”

Ohtani put together another spectacular season and appears to be a lock to win the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award for the second time in three years. He slashed .304/.412/.654 while leading the AL in home runs (44), walks (91) and total bases (325) as a hitter and went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings as a pitcher, striking out 167 batters and issuing 55 walks. Despite pitching and hitting for only about five out of six months, Ohtani’s 9.0 FanGraphs wins above replacement easily leads the majors.

The Angels, however, are barreling toward their eighth consecutive losing season, which would set a franchise record. Despite also employing Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, both of whom have been beset by injuries these past three years, the Angels haven’t even been relevant in the stretch run of the regular season in their six years with Ohtani.

Asked about the chances of re-signing him as a free agent, Minasian said: “That would be a question for him. But I think he really enjoys his time here. Obviously, he’s had three of the greatest — if not the greatest — years any player has ever had. I think he enjoys his teammates and the area and the fan base and the organization. There’s a lot of trust and a lot of communication. I hope he’s here for a long time.”

The Angels, under then-GM Billy Eppler and former manager Mike Scioscia, recruited Ohtani out of Japan in December 2017 but got only half a season out of him as a two-way player within the first two years. Ohtani was diagnosed with a Grade 2 tear of his right UCL in June 2018 and was recommended Tommy John surgery in September, after PRP and stem-cell therapy did not take. He continued to hit through the end of the season and underwent Tommy John surgery in October, which kept him out of the lineup until May of the following season.

Ohtani struggled mightily as a two-way player during the COVID-19-shortened season of 2020, then put together a three-year stretch that will go down as one of the most impressive in baseball history. As a hitter, Ohtani slashed .277/.379/.585 with 124 home runs, 290 RBIs and 57 stolen bases in 447 games. As a pitcher, he accumulated 34 wins and posted a 2.84 ERA in 428⅔ innings, striking out 542 batters in the process. If not for a record-breaking home run season from Aaron Judge in 2022, he would have won three consecutive MVPs.

“He’s a great player,” Minasian said. “Great player that can do things on a baseball field that nobody else can do. As good of a player as he is, the thing I appreciate the most is the preparation part of it. The want-to, the care. This is somebody that puts everything he has into it, and I have a ton of respect for that.”

Ohtani hasn’t spoken publicly since Aug. 9, his last full start before learning about his UCL tear when he next took the mound 14 days later. Ohtani found out about the injury shortly after an early exit from the first game of a doubleheader and was in the lineup for Game 2. He then accompanied the Angels on a three-city road trip through New York, Philadelphia and Oakland, serving as the team’s designated hitter throughout. The oblique injury occurred hours before the first game of the ensuing homestand.

Ohtani continually worked to be in the lineup nonetheless, getting scratched on a couple of occasions. Earlier this week, while the Angels were in Seattle, Minasian saw him in the batting cages “taking massive hacks” to test the injury as much as possible.

“He wants to play,” Minasian said, “and that’s what we love about him.”

Ohtani’s elbow procedure will be decided on between him and his representation at CAA. The Angels, who will technically be his employer for only 2½ more weeks, haven’t really been involved in that process.

“There’s discussions, and once they lock something down, there will be communication,” Minasian said. “Sho and his group will handle that, determine what they wanna do and how they wanna do it, who they wanna do it with, and I respect that. I’ll obviously have that information at some point. But definitely respect his decision.”

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Sovereignty rallies to win Jim Dandy at Saratoga

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Sovereignty rallies to win Jim Dandy at Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty rallied after losing position heading into the final turn to win the $500,000 Jim Dandy by a length at Saratoga on Saturday.

Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty ran nine furlongs in 1:49.52 and paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favorite against four rivals, the smallest field of his career.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said Sovereignty would be pointed toward the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 23 at the upstate New York track.

Approaching the turn, there were a few tense moments as it appeared Sovereignty was retreating when losing position to the advancing Baeza and deep closers Sandman and Hill Road, leaving Sovereignty in last for a few strides.

Alvarado said he never had a doubt that Sovereignty would come up with his expected run.

“It was everybody else moving and at that time I was just like, ‘Alright let me now kind of start picking it up,'” Alvarado said. “I had 100% confidence. I knew what I had underneath me.”

Baeza, third to Sovereignty in both the Derby and Belmont, finished second. Hill Road was another 9¼ lengths back in third. Mo Plex was fourth and Sandman fifth.

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Briscoe wins Brickyard 400 pole, his 5th of season

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Briscoe wins Brickyard 400 pole, his 5th of season

INDIANAPOLIS — Chase Briscoe became the first driver to win poles at NASCAR’s first three crown jewel races in one season Saturday, taking the Brickyard 400 pole with a fast lap of 183.165 mph.

His late run bumped Bubba Wallace out of the top starting spot.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won nine career poles, five coming this season including those at the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and now the only race held in Briscoe’s home state. He’ll have a chance to complete a crown jewel sweep at the Southern 500 in late August.

Briscoe has the most pole wins this season, his latest coming on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. It also came on the same weekend his sister was married in Indiana. Briscoe has never won the Brickyard.

Wallace starts next to Briscoe on the front row after posting a lap of 183.117 mph. Those two also led a pack of five Toyotas to the front of the field — marking the first time the engine manufacturer has swept the top five spots.

Qualifying was held after a brief, rescheduled practice session. Friday’s practice was rained out.

Briscoe’s teammate, Ty Gibbs, has the early edge in the championship round of NASCAR’s first In-Season Challenge. He qualified fifth at 182.445. Ty Dillon starts 26th. The winner will be crowned champion and walk away with $1 million.

Last week’s race winner Denny Hamlin faces a major hurdle in winning his first Brickyard title. He crashed hard during qualifying and will start from the back of the field, 39th, as he tries to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup’s crown jewel races. The 44-year-old Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with JGR on Friday.

Defending race winner Kyle Larson starts 13th.

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Building the perfect trade deadline for the Mets and Phillies

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Building the perfect trade deadline for the Mets and Phillies

There’s plenty of history in the rivalry between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. It’s about 116 miles from Citi Field to Citizens Bank Park. The two teams been competing for the NL East since 1969. Star players from Tug McGraw to Jerry Koosman to Lenny Dykstra to Pedro Martinez to Zack Wheeler have played for both franchises. Mets fans loathe the Phanatic, and Phillies fans laugh derisively at Mr. Met.

Despite this longevity, the two teams have rarely battled for a division title in the same season. The only years they finished No. 1 and 2 or were battling for a division lead late in the season:

  • 1986: Mets finished 21.5 games ahead

  • 2001: Both finished within six games of the Braves

  • 2006: Mets finished 12 games ahead

  • 2007: Phillies finished one game ahead

  • 2008: Phillies finished three games ahead

  • 2024: Phillies finished six games ahead of Mets and Braves

So it’s a rare treat to see the Mets and Phillies battling for the NL East lead in as New York faces the San Francisco Giants on “Sunday Night Baseball” this week. This season has also been a bit of bumpy ride for both teams, so there is pressure on both front offices to make trade deadline additions in hopes of winning the World Series that has eluded both franchises in recent years despite high payrolls and star-laden rosters. Let’s dig into what both teams need to do before Thursday.

The perfect trade deadline for the Mets

1. Bullpen help

The Mets already acquired hard-throwing lefty Gregory Soto from the Orioles, but David Stearns will likely look for another reliever, given that the Mets’ bullpen has struggled since the beginning of June with a 5.02 ERA. In my grade of the trade, I pointed out the importance for the Mets to add left-handed relief. Think of potential playoff opponents and all the key left-handed batters: Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on the Phillies; Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy on the Dodgers; Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs.

Soto has held lefties to a .138 average this season, and it does help that the Mets have two lefty starters in David Peterson and Sean Manaea. They also just activated Brooks Raley after he had been out since early 2024. If he is back to his 2022-23 form, when he had a 2.74 ERA and held lefties to a .209 average, maybe the Mets will feel good enough about their southpaw relief.

They could still use another dependable righty reliever. Mets starters were hot early on, but they weren’t going deep into games, and outside of Peterson, the lack of longer outings is a big reason the bullpen ERA has skyrocketed. Carlos Mendoza has overworked his setup guys, including Huascar Brazoban and Reed Garrett. Brazoban has never been much of a strike thrower anyway, and Garrett similarly faded in the second half last season. Adding a high-leverage righty to set up Edwin Diaz makes sense. Candidates there include David Bednar of the Pirates, Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, Griffin Jax or Jhoan Duran of the Twins, or maybe a longer shot such as Emmanuel Clase or Cade Smith of the Guardians.

2. Think big, as in Eugenio Suarez

Mark Vientos was a huge key to last season’s playoff appearance and trip to the NLCS, hitting .266/.322/.516 with 27 home runs after beginning the season in Triple-A. He hasn’t been able to replicate that performance, though, hitting .224/.279/.354. That has led to a revolving door at third base, with Vientos, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio starting games there in July. Overall, Mets third basemen ranked 24th in the majors in OPS entering Friday.

Lack of production at third is one reason the Mets’ offense has been mediocre rather than very good — they’re averaging 4.38 runs per game, just below the NL average of 4.43. They could use another premium bat, given the lack of production they’ve received from center field and catcher (not to mention Francisco Lindor‘s slump since the middle of June). Maybe Francisco Alvarez‘s short stint back in Triple-A will get his bat going now that he’s back in the majors, but going after Suarez to hit behind Juan Soto and Pete Alonso would lengthen the lineup.

3. Reacquire Harrison Bader to play CF

Tyrone Taylor is a plus defender in center and has made several incredible catches, but he’s hitting .209/.264/.306 for a lowly OPS+ of 65. Old friend Bader is having a nice season with the Twins, hitting .251/.330/.435. Maybe that’s a little over his head, given that he had a .657 OPS with the Mets last season, but he would still be an offensive upgrade over Taylor without losing anything on defense — and he wouldn’t cost a top-tier prospect. The Mets could still mix in Jeff McNeil against the really tough righties, but adding Suarez and Bader would give this lineup more of a championship feel.

The perfect deadline for the Phillies

1. Acquire Jhoan Duran

Like the Mets, the Phillies already made a move here, signing free agent David Robertson, who had a 3.00 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 72 innings last season with the Rangers. On paper, he should help, but he’s also 40 and will need a few games in the minors to get ready. Even with Robertson, the Phillies could use some more help here. They’ll eventually get Jose Alvarado back from his 60-game PED suspension, but Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason. At least the Mets have an elite closer in Edwin Diaz. Jordan Romano leads the Phillies with eight saves and has a 6.69 ERA. Matt Strahm is solid, but more useful as a lefty setup guy than a closer (think of all those left-handed batters we listed for the Mets, then sub out Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo for Harper and Schwarber).

And the Phillies’ bullpen has consistently come up short in big games. Think back to last year’s NLDS, when Jeff Hoffman lost twice to the Mets. Or 2023, when Craig Kimbrel lost two games in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks. Or the 2022 World Series, when Yordan Alvarez hit the huge home run off Alvarado in the clinching Game 6.

So, yes, a shutdown closer is a must. Maybe that’s Bednar, maybe Clase if he’s available (although he struggled in last year’s postseason), maybe Helsley. But the guy Dave Dombrowski should go all-in to get: Duran. The window for the Phillies is slowly closing as the core players get older. Duran is under control through 2027, so he’s a fit for now and the immediate future. The trade cost might be painful, but with his 100 mph fastball and splitter, he has the elite stuff you need in October.

2. Add Ryan O’Hearn

The Phillies have received below-average production from both left field (mostly Max Kepler) and center field (Brandon Marsh/Johan Rojas platoon). The center-field market is pretty thin except for Bader or maybe a gamble on Luis Robert Jr. I’d pass on Robert, stick with the Marsh/Rojas platoon and upgrade left field with O’Hearn, who is hitting .281/.375/.452 for the Orioles. He isn’t the perfect fit since, like Kepler, he hits left-handed and struggles against lefties, but he’s a patient hitter with a much better OBP, and he’s passable in the outfield.

3. Acquire Willi Castro

Here’s the bottom line: The Phillies have to admit that some of their long-term position players aren’t getting the job done — such as second baseman Bryson Stott, who has a 77 OPS+. Third baseman Alec Bohm has been better but also has a below-average OPS.

That makes Castro a nice fit. He’s not a star, but he’s an above-average hitter, a switch-hitter who plays all over the field for the Twins, having started games at five different positions. He could play second or third or start in left field against a lefty. Philadelphia could even start him in center instead of Rojas, although that would be a defensive hit. Bottom line: Castro would give the Phillies a lot more versatility — or a significant offensive upgrade over Stott if they start him every day at second.

Note as well: Stott has hit .188 in 33 career postseason games. Bohm has hit .214 with two home runs in 34 postseason games. The Phillies need a different offensive look for October.

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