The future of Shohei Ohtani

[Exhibitman]

'Wasted career': Don Mattingly. One playoff loss in 1st round, retired just before the Yankees' big run.

Trout to the Dodgers...just sayin'. Let the man contend for a title up the road and DH to close his career.

If I am a GM I am not going to pay up for Ohtani now because odds are he is going to be mediocre and/or shut down as a pitcher, and he will most likely not play in 2024.

I suspect that the Angels did not trade him because they knew he was hurt and would not have passed a physical, and that they did not shut him down earlier because they knew he wasn't coming back next year regardless. As cold-blooded as the business is, the Angels may have figured to wring every last attendance and merch dollar out of him for the rest of the year, and if it wrecked him for the next team, who cares.

If I was him, I would take the year to fully rehab, then put on a road show once better and enter the free agent market in 2025. It is a risk but if he comes back and shows the same pop as a hitter, he will still get the big bucks.

[packs]

I know Harper had Tommy John but are there other hitters in recent memory to have it? At least in Harper’s case he seems to be producing at a comparable level to before his injury.

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by packs

I know Harper had Tommy John but are there other hitters in recent memory to have it? At least in Harper’s case he seems to be producing at a comparable level to before his injury.

And it only took Harper 160 days to come back from his November 23rd surgery. This will, of course be Ohtani's second Tommy John surgery, so recovery time will be longer. But I really hope he doesn't miss the entire 2024 season. I feel like he should be able to come back as DH during the season, hopefully in spring/early summer.

[Shoeless Moe]

Bryce Harper has 12 home runs and 47 RBI and we are almost in September.

He's having an awful season.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Are there examples of pitchers who have had two of these and gone on to more success?

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Are there examples of pitchers who have had two of these and gone on to more success?

Peter, I posted this link earlier but you may have missed it. Definitely a mixed bag following second surgery.

https://www.mlb.com/news/pitchers-to...-surgery-twice

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jayshum

Peter, I posted this link earlier but you may have missed it. Definitely a mixed bag following second surgery.

https://www.mlb.com/news/pitchers-to...-surgery-twice

Sorry I missed it. Thank you.

And yeah, not exactly cause for overwhelming confidence.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Bryce Harper has 12 home runs and 47 RBI and we are almost in September.

He's having an awful season.

He's also hitting .299 with an .860 OPS. Since his return, he's been hitting for average but had a long home run drought. Recently the power seems to be coming back so while it did take him some time, it appears like he might have a strong finish. If that happens, it wouldn't be an awful season considering that he wasn't expected to be back until the All-Star break but came back in early May.

[packs]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Bryce Harper has 12 home runs and 47 RBI and we are almost in September.

He's having an awful season.

Bryce Harper in 2022 pre-injury:

286 average / 364 OBP / 514 SLG / 877 OPS

Bryce Harper 2023 post-injury:

299 average / 392 OBP / 468 SLG / 860 OPS

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by packs

Bryce Harper in 2022 pre-injury:

286 average / 364 OBP / 514 SLG / 877 OPS

Bryce Harper 2023 post-injury:

299 average / 392 OBP / 468 SLG / 860 OPS

Last 30 games
.307 average / .398 OBP / .579 SLG / .977 OPS

so it took him some time to get back to his normal level but if he can finish like this, the Phillies will be very happy with his season.

Don't forget he missed a lot of 2022 with a broken thumb and was pretty lousy hitting when he came back from that but caught fire in the playoffs and almost carried the Phillies to a World Series win.

[Peter_Spaeth]

It's unfortunate isn't it that two generational talents IMO, Trout and Harper, have both been plagued by injuries which clearly have taken away from their career resumes. Sadly, after coming back for one game and now being gone again, it's very unclear to me what will become of Trout. Harper still seems resilient.

[Shoeless Moe]

He's had 1 great week and about 20 awful weeks.

Yes he better stay hot to make up for that brutal 1st 4 months of the season.


26 million a year for 12 HRs and 47 RBIs, no thanks.........granted these will go up some with a month to go, but let's see if the Phillies even get in the Playoffs, luckily they have a soft Sept schedule, so they should.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by jayshum

but caught fire in the playoffs and almost carried the Phillies to a World Series win.

Yes, he indeed did do that. Tremendous in the Playoffs, although a little dissapointing in the WS. I'm just saying this season has been brutal up until a week or so ago.

We'll see how he finishes.