ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani was left out of the Angels lineup for the 11th straight game to start the three game home stand against the Detroit Tigers on Roberto Clemente day.
Ohtani’s injury occurred during batting practice two weeks ago prior to a game against the Baltimore Orioles, the same day his agent, Nez Balelo, spoke to media regarding Ohtani’s injury.
Before the game, Angels manager Phil Nevin said that Ohtani would go through a workout to see if he could return to the lineup and reiterated Ohtani’s interest to return this season.
“He’s always wanted to play,” Nevin said about Ohtani before the game Friday.
Following the game against the Tigers, Shohei Ohtani’s locker along with his belongings had been packed up. The Angels did not provide a comment on the situation, but will presumably provide an update Saturday.
Randal Grichuk started in place of Ohtani at DH in the 6th spot of the lineup.
Nevin also provided an injury update on Mickey Moniak, who was placed on the IL due to back tightness.
“I looked at it today and realized it would take a little more time than we thought, but we’re going to try to grind this out,” Nevin said.
Mike Moustakas was also placed on the IL due to a left forearm extensor strain and the Angels subsequently called up veterans Jared Walsh and David Fletcher during the team’s off-day Thursday.
“We’re low on bodies,” Nevin said. “They’ve both been good teammates down there. They’ve done what they were asked to do when they went.”
The following day, Fletcher was included in the starting lineup against Detroit, but Walsh was not. The Angels also called up Kyren Paris and Jordyn Adams from Triple-A Salt Lake City and included both in the lineup Friday.
Nevin also provided a vague update on Anthony Rendon, who told media he had a fracture in his leg, not a bone bruise, which has kept him out for an extended period.
“I’m not on the medical side of it,” Nevin said prior to the game against Detroit. “We talked about when he did it, how bad the bone bruise was and it’s similar to what a fracture is. Bone bruise, fracture, either way he’s unable to play right now.”
Regarding Rendon’s return, Nevin expressed confidence, stating that he had no concerns about Rendon coming back to play in the near future.
Nevin explained that the treatment for Rendon’s bone bruise, despite its degree of fracture, was within Rendon’s pain tolerance. He emphasized that it was a very painful situation for Rendon, but believes that Rendon has progressed beyond the worst of it.
“He’s able to do a lot of things on the treadmill, on the bike and he’s doing some baseball activities,” Nevin said. “The encouraging part is that he’s feeling a lot better.”
