Agent: No question Ohtani will be two-way player
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani is still evaluating medical opinions on the tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament, but his agent, Nez Balelo of CAA, made two things clear Monday afternoon: Ohtani will be ready to at least hit at the start of next season, regardless of how much longer he plays in 2023, and he will remain a two-way player down the road.
“There’s not a question in his mind that he’s going to come back and he’s going to continue to do both,” Balelo told a large contingent of reporters from his suite at Angel Stadium, marking the first time he, or Ohtani, has addressed the media since his tear was revealed Aug. 23.
Ohtani will continue to hit for the foreseeable future — though he was a late scratch from Monday’s lineup because of what the Los Angeles Angels described as right oblique tightness — but Balelo didn’t commit to him hitting the rest of the season.
Balelo acknowledged that Ohtani, who will soon be one of the most prominent free agents in baseball history, will eventually undergo “some type of procedure,” a list of options that would seemingly include Tommy John surgery — the standard UCL replacement that would keep him off a mound through the 2024 season — or a noninvasive treatment that utilizes stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in an effort to strengthen the ligament. A relatively new, less-invasive bracing procedure also has been popularized in recent years, though it is unclear whether Ohtani is a candidate for that.
In dealing with a previous UCL tear, Ohtani underwent stem cell and PRP therapy in June 2018 in hopes of avoiding surgery, then learned he needed Tommy John less than three months later and underwent the procedure Oct. 1 of that year.
Waiting until then kept Ohtani from serving as a designated hitter until May of the following season. But Balelo expressed confidence that won’t be the case this time around, adding that the most recent tear is on the lowest extremity of his right UCL, closest to the ulna and radius bones, whereas the tear five years ago was at the highest extremity, attached to the humerus.
“It’s completely different,” Balelo said, adding that the graft from Ohtani’s initial surgery is “all together, all intact, no problems. Everything looks good.”
Balelo said doctors told him the current tear is “the best-case scenario for the situation we’re in,” though he didn’t provide any indication on a course of action or a return to pitching.
“Shohei’s going to be fine,” Balelo said. “Is he going to pitch the rest of the year? No. We already know that. Is he going to get into next year? We don’t know yet. So just bear with me on that. But I do know this — no matter what timetable we’re dealing with and when we get this done, Shohei’s going to be in somebody’s lineup next year, DHing when the bell rings. We know that. We’re not going to push that. He’s going to be good to go.”
Ohtani served as the Angels’ designated hitter for most of 2018 and all of 2019 and struggled to both pitch and hit during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. But he emerged as a two-way force the following year, winning the American League MVP award unanimously in 2021 and finishing second to Aaron Judge, who set the AL home run record, in 2022. The 2023 MVP is all but certain to be Ohtani’s, even though the Angels are trending toward their eighth consecutive losing season.
Ohtani entered the Angels’ most recent homestand leading the majors in OPS (1.066), homers (44) and triples (eight) while adding 20 stolen bases. He finished his season as a pitcher with a 10-5 record, a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings.
Ohtani’s last start came Aug. 23, when he exited in the second inning of a doubleheader and later underwent the MRI that revealed the tear. Ohtani nonetheless opted to hit in the second game of the doubleheader and continued to hit during the Angels’ ensuing road trip through New York, Philadelphia and Oakland.
“This guy loves the game,” Balelo said. “When he found out that there’s nothing that he can do to create any more damage than what’s already been done, he was like, ‘I’m going to play this thing out until we gather more information to make the right decision.’ That’s where we’re at as of today.”
Ohtani skipped the start that preceded his last outing because of what was described as arm fatigue and had been battling intermittent bouts of cramping and fatigue in prior weeks, prompting questions around whether the Angels could have prevented the tear or at least caught it sooner. Angels general manager Perry Minasian told reporters last week that Ohtani and Balelo declined an MRI after Ohtani’s Aug. 3 start against the Seattle Mariners, when he complained of finger cramps. Balelo confirmed those details, adding that Ohtani homered later in that game and made his next scheduled start, throwing 97 pitches.
“It was just a quick suggestion,” Balelo said. “Thought about it, talked to him, everything was good. It didn’t warrant it at all.”
Ohtani is not expected to address the media any time soon. Balelo wouldn’t get into what types of contracts he will pursue in free agency or Ohtani’s chances of re-signing with the Angels, but he said the player’s relationship with the team hasn’t been strained by recent developments. As was the case when Ohtani continued to hit through a Grade 2 tear for the last three and a half months in 2018, doctors have told Balelo that Ohtani can’t do any further damage to his UCL by continuing to serve as the Angels’ DH.
“He can lift, he can run, he can slide, take violent swings,” Balelo said. “He can do anything he wants right now. It doesn’t affect the problem in question. We’re good. Whatever we decide to get done, we have to take into consideration next year. The way the timetable is going to play out, he’s going to be fine when the bell rings in ’24.”
The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to the final two contenders: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and eighth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Jan. 20 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. Whichever team wins will end a championship drought. Notre Dame aims for its first title since 1988. Ohio State’s lull isn’t nearly as long, as the Buckeyes won the first CFP championship a decade ago, but given how consistently elite they are, it seems like a while.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are also aiming for their first championships as head coaches, and Freeman’s past will be in the spotlight. Freeman and the Irish lost to the Buckeyes and Day in each of the past two seasons. But after a masterful coaching job this season, Freeman now will face his alma mater — he was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Ohio State under coach Jim Tressel — with everything on the line. Day, meanwhile, can secure the loftiest goal for a team that fell short of earlier ones, but never stopped swinging.
Here’s your first look at the championship matchup and what to expect in the ATL. — Adam Rittenberg
When: Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the semifinal: Notre Dame’s resilience and situational awareness/execution are undeniably its signature traits and could propel the team to a title. The Irish have overcome injuries all season and did so again against Penn State. They also erased two deficits and continued to hold the edge in the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half — while dominating third down on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame can rely on front men such as quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love and linebacker Jack Kiser, but also on backup QB Steve Angeli, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and kicker Mitch Jeter. These Irish fight, and they’re very hard to knock out.
X factor: Greathouse entered Thursday with moderate numbers — 29 receptions, 359 yards, one touchdown — and had only three total catches for 14 yards in the first two CFP games. But he recorded career highs in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) and tied the score on a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. A Notre Dame offense looking for more from its wide receivers, especially downfield, could lean more on Greathouse, who exceeded his receptions total from the previous five games but might be finding his groove at the perfect time. He also came up huge in the clutch, recording all but six of his receiving yards in the second half.
How Notre Dame wins: The Irish won’t have the talent edge in Atlanta, partly because they’ve lost several stars to season-ending injuries, but they have the right traits to hang with any opponent. Notre Dame needs contributions in all three phases and must continue to sprinkle in downfield passes, an element offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has pushed. And they finally did start seeing results against Penn State. The Irish likely can’t afford to lose the turnover margin, although they can help themselves by replicating their third-down brilliance — 11 of 17 conversions on offense, 3 of 11 conversions allowed on defense — from the Penn State win. — Rittenberg
What we learned in the semifinal: The Buckeyes have a defense with championship mettle, headlined by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who delivered one of the biggest defensive plays in Ohio State history. On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, forcing a fumble that he scooped up and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown, propelling Ohio State to the national title game. The Buckeyes weren’t perfect in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and they struggled offensively for much of the night against a talented Texas defense. But Ohio State showed late why its defense is arguably the best in college football, too.
X factor: The play two snaps before the Sawyer scoop-and-score set the table. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line, unheralded senior safety Lathan Ransom dashed past incoming blockers and dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Longhorns were forced into desperation mode on fourth-and-goal down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. All-American safety Caleb Downs, who had an interception on Texas’ ensuing drive, rightfully gets all the headlines for the Ohio State secondary. But the Buckeyes have other veteran standouts such as Ransom throughout their defense.
How Ohio State wins: Texas took away Ohio State’s top offensive playmaker, true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had only one reception for 3 yards on three targets. As the first two playoff games underscored, the Buckeyes offense is at its best when Smith gets the ball early and often. Notre Dame is sure to emulate the Texas blueprint, positioning the defensive backs to challenge Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has to counter with a plan that finds ways to get the ball into Smith’s hands, no matter what the Fighting Irish do. — Jake Trotter
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