OC Register: Angels’ Shohei Ohtani misses 8th straight game with sore oblique

[AngelsWin.com]

SEATTLE — At least Shohei Ohtani was in the lineup for about an hour this time.

After missing a week with oblique tightness, Ohtani was back in the Angels’ lineup when it was first released, but then he was scratched after he went through his pregame routine. Manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani hit in the cage and didn’t feel ready.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s a setback, he just still has some soreness in there when he lets it go,” Nevin said. “He didn’t think he would have that today, but when he got in there, he did.

“Where that puts us as far as tomorrow? I don’t know. Is he gonna come here and try it again? I don’t know. Those are conversations that he and I are going to have. Yesterday he was very confident that he would feel fine enough to play today and then it just didn’t happen.”

Monday was the eighth consecutive game that Ohtani has been out, and there are only 17 games remaining.

His continued absence raises the question of whether Ohtani will go on the injured list, possibly ending his season.

“Not at this point,” Nevin said.

Nevin said if the Angels get through this series without Ohtani playing, “something like that (the IL) may come up in a conversation. It’s getting to that point, but he feels confident that it’s any day now. He wants to play. That’s the key.”

Ohtani, who is done pitching for the season, is facing a procedure at some point to repair his torn ulnar collateral ligament.

SUAREZ RETURNS

Left-hander Jose Suarez was activated after being on the injured list since May 8 with a shoulder strain. Suarez had a setback over the summer and as of August, he was still not even facing hitters. Suarez said he pitched four games in Arizona, which was enough for the Angels to be confident in bringing him back as a reliever.

“We were very happy with what his numbers had gotten to, with his velocities and shapes and things like that, obviously the things that everybody looks at,” Nevin said.

Suarez had a 9.62 ERA in six starts before he went on the injured list. Nevin said they believe part of the problem was the injury and also he had some mechanical issues.

Suarez is 25 and he’s just a year removed from posting a 3.86 ERA over 207⅓ innings in 2021-22. He’s going to be arbitration-eligible this winter.

The Angels optioned right-hander Gerardo Reyes to create a spot for Suarez.

NOTES

Right-hander Chase Silseth (concussion) will not be ready to pitch by Wednesday, which is the next time the Angels need a starter. “There’s just little minor things that are still affecting him a little bit,” Nevin said. “He’s building up his workouts. He’s building up his bullpens. Nothing that anybody feels is an alarming thing. To go out and make a start and go five, six innings or whatever you anticipate going, he’s got to get through his workouts, got to get through everything without any sort of discomfort and any uneasiness. We’re certainly going to wait until that happens.” …

Outfielder Mickey Moniak (back) is going to need at least the rest of this series off before he might be ready to play, Nevin said. …

First baseman C.J. Cron (back) began doing baseball activity on the field, including taking batting practice, on Monday. Cron said he would like to make it back this season. “Just for my mental health, going into the offseason having played a few games and knowing I’m good, I think is going to go a long way,” Cron said. …

Right-hander Chris Rodriguez (shoulder) has been moved to Triple-A Salt Lake in his rehab assignment. Rodriguez pitched an inning at Class-A Inland Empire on Sunday, his first game in more than two years. “It’s really neat to see him back,” Nevin said. “He’s been through a lot, fought through a lot. The shoulder is tough to come back from. It’s a long rehab process.” …

Outfielder Jo Adell (oblique) has reported to Salt Lake, but he’s not yet ready to play in games. For now, he’s simply doing the rehab there that he had been doing in Arizona. “Where that puts him on a timetable for this year, I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to get in a game yet,” Nevin said. “We’ll see how the next few days in Salt Lake go for him.” …

Shortstop Zach Neto returned to the Angels’ lineup on Monday, and he’s expected to start just about every game the rest of the season. That means Kyren Paris will get some work at other positions, including second base and the outfield, Nevin said.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 7-12, 4.31) vs. Mariners (RHP Bryan Woo, 2-4, 4.50), Tuesday, 6:40 p.m., T-Mobile Park, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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[BTH]

31 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

Suarez is 25 and he’s just a year removed from posting a 3.86 ERA over 207⅓ innings in 2021-22. He’s going to be arbitration-eligible this winter.

Gonna be interesting to see if they keep Suarez around after this year.

He made $750k this year, so I can't imagine he commands a ton in arbitration, though it'll be ARB1 so he'll likely get some money based on his 2021 and 2022 seasons.

[jsnpritchett]

4 minutes ago, BTH said:

Gonna be interesting to see if they keep Suarez around after this year.

He made $750k this year, so I can't imagine he commands a ton in arbitration, though it'll be ARB1 so he'll likely get some money based on his 2021 and 2022 seasons.

I'm still trying to figure out when his other two appearances in Arizona were.  Both B-Ref and MILB.com only list two appearances in Arizona this year, with the last one in late July.

 

[BTH]

17 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

I'm still trying to figure out when his other two appearances in Arizona were.  Both B-Ref and MILB.com only list two appearances in Arizona this year, with the last one in late July.

 

in "bridge league" games, which are unofficial games that are taking place in Arizona between the end of the Arizona Complex League season and the start of the instructional league.

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 hours ago, jsnpritchett said:

I'm still trying to figure out when his other two appearances in Arizona were.  Both B-Ref and MILB.com only list two appearances in Arizona this year, with the last one in late July.

 

We were all very confused by the vagueness of the descriptions that Nevin and Suarez used to describe his recent work in games. It’s pretty weird that they called him up, if you ask me. 
 

I actually don’t think they need to do stuff like this for luxury tax purposes, because I think they’re safely under, but maybe they know something I don’t know. 

[BTH]

10 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

We were all very confused by the vagueness of the descriptions that Nevin and Suarez used to describe his recent work in games. It’s pretty weird that they called him up, if you ask me. 
 

I actually don’t think they need to do stuff like this for luxury tax purposes, because I think they’re safely under, but maybe they know something I don’t know. 

Maybe they are hedging because they had to place Barria and Rengifo on the IL, plus Ohtani might have to go on the IL?

I think he pitched in a couple bridge league games in AZ.

But the weird thing is that they deemed that enough, rather than having him rehab in an pro game with Salt Lake or someting.

[T.G.]

It’s weird because none of you realize he’s actually Bartolo Colon, re-engineered to throw left handed!