This is one of the worst days in Angels franchise history.
Wednesday, August 23 may officially mark the end of the Angels season.
Following a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds and a three-game sweep overall, Angels general manager Perry Minasian announced two major injuries: Shohei Ohtani has a torn UCL and won’t pitch again this season, while Mike Trout is heading back on the injured list just one day after being activated and going 1-for-4 on Tuesday.
Mike Trout is going back on the IL. Shohei Ohtani has a tear in his arm and he will not pitch the rest of the year. They are still searching for a second opinion on Ohtani. It’s a UCL tear for Ohtani.
— Sarah Valenzuela (@Sarah_IsabelVee) August 24, 2023
This is truly the worst possible news the Halos could have received, and as the team sits at 61-66 and 10 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League, their chances at making the postseason seem all but over.
Ohtani left Wednesday’s first game after just 1.1 innings with what the team called “arm fatigue,” however, clearly it was much more than that.
Ohtani is now done for the year as a pitcher, and may require surgery which would end his season.
As for Trout, he tried to come back from his broken hamate bone, and was able to return without a rehab assignment after seven weeks. However, he was only able to play in one game, before going back on the injured list.
If the Angels fall further out of playoff contention — and they probably will — Trout likely won’t return at all this season.
And if Ohtani doesn’t play again for the Halos this year, then we may very well have seen his last game in an Angel uniform.
The same day the Angels lose a crucial doubleheader and fall 10 games out of the Wild Card, they lose Shohei Ohtani to a torn UCL and MIke Trout heads back to the IL.
August 23 is officially the day their season ended. It also could be the last day Ohtani ever played for them.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) August 24, 2023
What a bad day in Anaheim.
