Shohei Ohtani undergoes elbow procedure, but not traditional Tommy John surgery

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shohei Ohtani finally had surgery on his damaged elbow on Tuesday morning.

Although the statement released by Ohtani’s agent did not specify the exact surgery, a quote attributed to Dr. Neal ElAttrache would suggest that Ohtani did not require a full reconstruction of the elbow, which is commonly referred to as Tommy John surgery.

“The ultimate plan after deliberation with Shohei, was to repair the issue at hand and to reinforce the healthy ligament in place while adding viable tissue for the longevity of the elbow,” ElAttrache said in the statement released by agent Nez Balelo. “I expect full recovery and he’ll be ready to hit without any restrictions come opening day of 2024 and do both (hit & pitch) come 2025.”

The tear in Ohtani’s ulnar collateral ligament this time was in a different place than the tear in 2018, Balelo had said earlier this month.

The description suggests that ElAttrache used the new “internal brace” technique, in which a thick suture-like material is used to provide strength to the ligament. It attracts collagen, a building block of soft tissue.

Ohtani had a traditional Tommy John surgery in October 2018, with a tendon removed from elsewhere in his body and transplanted as a graft to replace the damaged ligament. ElAttrache stopped short of repeating that procedure this time.

Following that procedure, Ohtani did not return to the Angels’ lineup as a hitter until May 2019. Earlier this month, Balelo said that the nature of this injury would allow him to come back more quickly as a hitter.

“I had a procedure done on my elbow earlier this morning and everything went very well,” Ohtani posted on his Instagram account. “Thank for very much for everyone’s prayers and kind words. It was very unfortunate that I couldn’t finish out the year on the field, but I will be rooting on the boys until the end. I will work as hard as I can and do my best to come back on the diamond stronger than ever.”

Ohtani, 29, is set to be a free agent at the end of the season and is expected to sign a record-breaking contract, perhaps for as much as $500 million.

(Although ElAttrache is the Dodgers team physician, nothing should be read into that regarding Ohtani’s free agency. ElAttrache routinely performs surgeries on athletes with other teams in other sports.)

Ohtani finished his third straight historic season in 2023, hitting .304 with 44 home runs and an OPS of 1.066. On the mound, he was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings over 23 starts.

Ohtani is likely to win the American League MVP Award for the second time in the last three years.

He continued to hit for two weeks after suffering the elbow injury on Aug. 23, but on Sept. 4 he suffered an oblique injury that prevented him from hitting. He spent a week and a half trying to get back into the lineup until Friday, when an MRI of his oblique showed sufficient irritation to prevent him from hitting again this season.

Ohtani had his locker cleared out on Friday night in preparation to have surgery, but he returned to be in the dugout during the Angels’ games on Saturday and Sunday.

He is expected to be in uniform for the final homestand next week.

NOTES

Right-hander Chase Silseth (concussion) was pulled in the first inning of his rehab outing on Sunday because he had reached 30 pitches, which was the limit the Angels had set for an inning. Silseth will pitch in the minors at least one more time. “He felt good,” Manager Phil Nevin said. “He felt healthy. His head was clear which is what we were looking for the most.” …

Mike Trout (fractured hamate) traveled with the team to St. Petersburg so he could continue his rehab. The three-time AL MVP has been taking dry swings, with some improvement. …

Infielder Mike Moustakas (sore wrist) took some swings and did some defensive work. “We think he’s going to be alright at the end of this 10 days,” Nevin said. Moustakas would be eligible to be activated on Saturday. …

Left-hander Reid Detmers, who was scratched from his scheduled start on Sunday because of an illness, will return to the rotation on Wednesday. …

Right-hander Jaime Barria (hamstring) has been throwing. He is expected to be activated before the end of the season. He is eligible on Friday. …

Rookies Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto, who are both from Florida, had large cheering sections at Tropicana Field for their first major league game back in their home state. They were in the first two spots in the Angels’ lineup on Tuesday.