Shohei Ohtani made news Friday night, as the Los Angeles Angels two-way supertaster reportedly cleared out his locker in the team’s clubhouse. Jeff Fletcher, the Angels beat writer for the SoCal News Group, reported the news and indicated that the Angels told reporters that they would have no information on what transpired until Saturday.
The Athletic’s Sam Blum added that “there’s a bag that’s packed,” and that the Angels declined to say Friday why it is happening or what it means.
Here’s more from Blum in The Athletic as he added a bit more context:
Shohei Ohtani’s locker was cleared out following the Los Angeles Angels’ 11-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers at home Friday. A fully packed All-Star Game duffel bag was sitting in front of it, and nearly all of his baseball gear and personal belongings were no longer in his locker.
Ohtani, who has missed the last 11 games with an oblique injury, in addition to the UCL tear in his pitching elbow, has been described as “day-to-day” as Angels manager Phil Nevin over the past two weeks. The injury, according to Blum, was not considered serious and there was a general expectation that he would avoid going on the injured list.
Those in the MLB world were quick to react to the mysterious Ohtani news:
One day we’re gonna look back and realize that there was an era where Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani both were on the same team, with both in prime MVP form (at least for part of it), two players that may be the two best of their generation…and they never made the playoffs once. https://t.co/FPbryZVZ3C
— #FreeAdequateEmily (@ImprisonedEmily) September 16, 2023
New Angels motto:
No matter how bad things get…they can and will always get worse. https://t.co/xEcT4iE9qs
— Daniel Prepas (@studsterkelfan) September 16, 2023
i’ll spell it out for you
Ohtani is gone forever https://t.co/i4r5v3jUDd
— 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐄 (@FrankiesTwoLoud) September 16, 2023
Remember when the Angels had a chance to receive a generational trade package for Shohei Ohtani
But instead they held on and now will lose him to free agency for absolutely nothing except a compensatory draft pick https://t.co/5jskMvDLGY
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) September 16, 2023
Never had a winning record with him. The last decade of the Angels is the biggest failure in MLB history https://t.co/FKaAFrvvAv
— Dayton from Nebraska (@BravesAmerica) September 16, 2023
It remains to be seen if this is the last time we’ve seen Ohtani in an Angels’ uniform. It is perfectly normal for a player to clear out his locker if he’s out for the season, but the Angels’ silence on the situation speaks volumes.
