Angels star Shohei Ohtani scratched from lineup vs. Orioles

Shohei Ohtani’s agent Nez Balelo painted the picture of an optimistic recovery for his client at Angel Stadium on Monday afternoon.

“Everything is fine”, “He will be fine”, he had said.

About 90 minutes later, Ohtani – who had been in batting practice for only the fourth time this season – was dropped from the Angels’ starting lineup against the Baltimore Orioles because of a tightness in the right slash, the Angels announced.

Ohtani has not spoken to the media since before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament on August 9 against the San Francisco Giants.

“As you know, he’s very picky and will keep playing as long as possible until we make decisions, but there’s really no reason for him to address the media,” Balelo said. “I speak up for him and on behalf of all of us … but we just let him keep playing and doing what he loves to do and respect that.”

Balelo had answered a range of questions, from whether Ohtani would need surgery to her relationship with the team prior to Ohtani’s recent game-breaking illness.

“Shohei is in good shape,” said Balelo. “His mood is good. He plays. All is well. So I don’t want anyone to think he’s not.”

Although Balelo believes it is “inevitable” that Ohtani will undergo any procedure, he said they are still in the process of determining their options. He said they had no timeline as to when a trial might take place and he declined to discuss details of what type of trial they might conduct.

“Obviously there were multiple opinions and we don’t just rely on one or two,” said Balelo. “We’re really trying to educate ourselves about this situation.”