Shohei Ohtani likely needs Tommy John surgery:

ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reported on SportsCenter early Monday morning that the Angels pitcher will need Tommy John surgery, which means he’d definitely be out all of 2018. Gomez also added 2019 is likely out of the question, too, as “the earliest we might see him, should he have Tommy John surgery, would be the 2020 season.”

Note that none of this has been confirmed by the Angels.

“The Angels are holding out hope that [Tommy John surgery] won’t be the case, but everything I’m hearing is that the reality is, he probably will need Tommy John surgery. They’re trying to hold out, because they’re in the middle of the season, they’re kind of competitive right now, he is their best pitcher, but it doesn’t look good at this point,” Gomez said.

If I’m running the Angels, Ohtani has thrown his last pitch for my organization. Let him have the surgery now, then bring him back strictly as a hitter, rather than risk blowing his arm out a second time.