Angels respond to reports, say doctors haven't recommended Tommy John for Ohtani

Despite a report which surfaced late Monday claiming Shohei Ohtani probably needs Tommy John surgery, the diagnosis for the injured Los Angeles Angels phenom hasn't changed.

"There have been no changes in Ohtani's diagnosis and neither our physicians nor medical staff have recommended (Tommy John surgery) or said it's likely," Angels general manager Billy Eppler told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

The Angels announced Friday that Ohtani suffered a Grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, a potential precursor to Tommy John surgery, which was implied in a report from ESPN's Pedro Gomez.

"Everything I'm hearing is that the reality is he probably will need Tommy John surgery," Gomez said on Sportscenter. "The earliest we might see him, should he have TJ surgery, would be the 2020 season."

Ohtani was given platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections for the injury on Thursday and is expected to be re-evaluated in three weeks. He could still be a candidate for Tommy John, but that is not a firm conclusion at this point, according to Rosenthal.

"I have not heard that," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said during an interview on CBS Sports HQ when asked about Tommy John surgery for Ohtani, according to Mike Axisa of CBS Sports.

"The doctors are obviously very confident that he's going to get back out there," Scioscia continued. "We're going to be very conservative with Shohei. We'll see when, first and foremost, the elbow is sound enough to where he can swing a bat. I think that'll happen before he's going to be out on the mound pitching. But we're very hopeful that he's going to be pitching for us again this season."

In December, it was reported Ohtani was dealing with a Grade 1 sprain of the same elbow.

The 23-year-old, who pitches and hits for the Angels, has been one of the most engaging storylines of the 2018 campaign.

He's 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 11.1 strikeouts per nine in 49 1/3 innings as a starting pitcher, while also slashing .289/.372/.535 with six homers and 20 RBIs as a hitter.