Angels activate Shohei Ohtani from 10-day DL

Published

SEATTLE (AP) The Los Angeles Angels activated two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday and used him as the designated hitter in their game against the Seattle Mariners.

Ohtani and his injured right elbow are only cleared to hit for now, but Los Angeles said he will be re-evaluated as a pitcher in three weeks.

Ohtani received stem cell therapy and a platelet-rich plasma injection to help heal the Grade 2 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament suffered more than three weeks ago. Ohtani was cleared for a hitting program Friday and took part in two simulated games against minor league pitchers over the weekend.

''We're going to see how many looks we can give him as a (designated hitter) and hopefully he'll give us a lift there,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Ohtani went 0 for 4 in Los Angeles' 4-1 loss to the Mariners.

Scioscia said there's no plan in terms of Ohtani's usage, and they'll monitor it daily.

''He's been cleared to swing and we will see how it all goes down,'' Scioscia said. ''I check with my players all the time to make sure nothing is bothering them, but we don't anticipate anything as far as him swinging the bat.''

Ohtani is hitting .280 with an .878 OPS and six homers in 118 at-bats in his rookie season. He batted sixth on Tuesday.

''I think it's a good spot for him,'' Scioscia said. ''When you're talking about Mike (Trout), Albert (Pujols), Justin (Upton) and (Andrelton) Simmons, hitting sixth behind those guys will hopefully be a good spot for him to hit, but also just trying to get him acclimated. We don't want him to say, `I have to do so much,' if he's hitting higher in the lineup.''

Scioscia emphasized that Ohtani was not being rushed back into the lineup.

''He would not be playing here tonight if he wasn't cleared by our medical department,'' Scioscia said. ''We were very comfortable that he was able to swing the bat.''

Right-handed pitcher Miguel Almonte was also called up and right-handed pitchers Deck McGuire and Eduardo Paredes were optioned to Triple-A in corresponding moves.

---

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball