The Los Angeles Angels are seriously mishandling Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Angels hit the jackpot by signing Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani last offseason. Now, the Angels are mishandling their star.

When Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels it shifted the culture and the narrative around the entire team.

Before Ohtani, there were serious questions whether or not the Angels could ever field a World Series-caliber team around Mike Trout. With the losses building year after year and the last playoff win coming in 2009, many wondered if the Angels would miss out on many years of the best player in baseball.

Then Ohtani came. Justin Upton re-signed. Zack Cozart and Ian Kinsler wanted to join the fun. Andrelton Simmons continued his offensive resurgence and the young pitching staff looked promising and healthy.

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Ohtani lit the world on fire to start the season. He threw 6 1/3 perfect innings against the Oakland Athletics in his second career start. He hit a home run in three consecutive games, which was his second, third and fourth games in the lineup as a big league hitter.

The hype was real. Despite a sluggish Spring Training and worries about his elbow prior to the season, Shohei Ohtani had arrived.

Now, the Angels are at risk at seriously jeopardizing the best thing that has happened to the team since Mike Trout was selected 25th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft.

Ohtani suffered a grade two UCL strain in early June. No Tommy John Surgery is needed, at least not yet, as Ohtani has had platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections. Angels’ pitcher Garrett Richards underwent the same treatment for his partial UCL tear in 2016. Richards still missed the remainder of the 2016 season.

Richards was not a hitter, though, so while Ohtani has been receiving the injections and nurturing the arm, he has been cleared to be in the starting lineup. Ohtani has been the designated hitter for the Angels, and while he may not be throwing at all, this is a massive mistake by Mike Scioscia and company.

First and foremost, the team needs to better evaluate their position in the league and whether or not this risk is even worth it. Right now, the Angels are in fourth place in the AL West and trail the Houston Astros by 14.5 games. The Angels are 11.0 games out of the second Wild Card spot.

If the Angels were in the mix, sure, I understand adding Ohtani’s bat into the lineup to make a run. However, as it currently stands, the difference between using Ohtani in the lineup really does not make a difference.

Why doesn’t Scioscia instead call on David Fletcher to DH? Fletcher has been used as a pinch hitter (something that is rarely used in the American League) and is hitting .283. That is a much smarter move than to keep Ohtani in the lineup and risk potential injury.

Second of all, Ohtani is not even having a huge impact on the team. Sure, he did score the tying run against the Dodgers in the first game of the Freeway Series. However, that run was gifted by a bad throw from Yasmani Grandal and Kenley Jansen missing the strike zone.

When you zoom out and look at the broader picture it is evident that the elbow is affecting his swing. Ohtani is hitting .125 in 16 at-bats in the month of July with eight strikeouts. Small sample size, sure, but it is still relatively concerning.

On Saturday, Ohtani fouled a Kenley Jansen cutter straight to his kneecap. While he did stay in the game, it should have been a stark eye-opener to Scioscia that this is a useless risk to take. As someone that has had elbow issues in their past, I know how an uncomfortable elbow can affect offensive performance.

Look at Corey Seager last season. He was nurturing a sore elbow and his offense took a huge dive because of it. Seager had to get Tommy John Surgery this season. Granted, he was throwing the ball in the field but the Dodgers obviously mishandled their superstar shortstop.

Next: How the Angels can land Jacob DeGrom

The Los Angeles Angels cannot make the same mistake. The team simply cannot afford it. Thus, unless the Los Angeles Angels make up some serious playoff ground, we shouldn’t be seeing Shohei Ohtani for the rest of the season.