Shohei Ohtani News: Dodgers Offseason Target Reportedly Leaves Angels
In some of the stranger, more unexplained news coming out of Major League Baseball on Friday night, superstar slugger Shohei Ohtani has reportedly cleared out his locker with the Angels in a move that was unable to be explained by the organization by the time this article was published.
Ohtani has been missing from the Angels lineup since Monday, September 4th after suffering an oblique injury. This came just days after his season as a pitcher came to a screeching halt following a torn elbow ligament.
The big shocker from the situation was that the Angels organization was unable to explain the situation, even a reported 30 minutes after the latest Halos loss on Friday.
It seems like Ohtani might be done with the Angels who will miss the playoffs the sixth time in his six years playing in Major League Baseball. The two way player is set to become a free agent after the season and has been heavily linked to the Dodgers. His desire to win has been vocalized by him and his agent, which makes his sudden disappearance from the Angels’ locker room surprising but not shocking.
More to come on this story as the day progresses.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
This does not surprise me at all. The Angels badly misused and overused Ohtani’s talents, in effect causing his injury. They were desperate to win now and neglected to closely guard his health as an individual with generational talent.
In fact, I was wondering why they kept playing him with limited rest or days off. What it comes down to is that the Angels were desperate.
The other factor I can only guess at is that Ohtani is an international talent and may have been faked out by the Angels portraying themselves as the “Los Angeles Angels.” They are NOT in Los Angeles and once Ohtani got his bearings after arriving to play, I am guessing he was disappointed to find the Angels are 50 miles to the south of LA! In fact, the Angels are well behind the Orange Curtain.
Good points, except I’m not so sure about Ohtani being “faked out” by the Angels. Even if he was unfamiliar with American baseball, his agent (Nez Balelo) sure had a clue. I don’t recall all the offers he received (over 20 I think), but something sold him on Orange County that’s for sure. It was a big miscalculation to come to the Angels, and he needs to get out as fast as he can to establish any kind of a legendary legacy because winning has to be a part of it. He doesn’t want to end up like Mike Trout.