Two-way superstar and likely AL MVP Shohei Ohtani will be photoshopped into the Los Angeles Angels’ 2023 team photo after missing the shoot.
Shohei Ohtani has been one of the few bright spots for a floundering Los Angeles Angels squad this season, but he wasn’t present for the official team photoshoot Tuesday.
Instead, a tall White man wearing an Ohtani jersey stood in for the two-way superstar, according to photos from the Los Angeles Times’ Sarah Valenzuela.
It appears there was a stand in for Ohtani at photo day, who was escorted back off the field through the bullpen exit. pic.twitter.com/FP8z8FQqxn
— Sarah Valenzuela (@Sarah_IsabelVee) September 5, 2023
Even the disgruntled, often-injured Anthony Rendon was present for the team photo, as was the banged up Mike Trout.
The man standing in for Ohtani, who was also captured in a photo from Japanese outlet Jiji Press, is theorized to be a team employee. He was escorted off the field through the bullpen exit following the photoshoot, per Valenzuela.
Ohtani, meanwhile, is expected to get photoshopped into the team photo.
This may have been the craziest five weeks for any sports franchise in human history.pic.twitter.com/81K1wT7qLP
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 6, 2023
There is speculation that Ohtani was getting evaluated for his recent oblique injury while the rest of his teammates took the field at Angel Stadium, considering he was spotted in the clubhouse not long after. Ohtani was scratched from the lineup Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles as a result of the injury, and manager Phil Nevin wound up labeling him as day-to-day.
Ohtani is still on pace to win AL MVP for the second time in three years, as he is currently batting .304 with 44 home runs, 95 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 1.066 OPS. Before a UCL injury in August ended his season on the mound, Ohtani had also gone 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.061 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Japanese slugger and ace leads in AL in home runs, runs, triples, walks, intentional walks, total bases, on-base percentage, OPS and WAR.
Ohtani’s status moving forward remains up in the air – both in regards to his current injury concerns and his upcoming free agency.
The Angels have fallen to 64-75 after attempting to go all-in at the MLB Trade Deadline, dropping 13.0 games back of the third and final AL Wild Card spot with less than four weeks left in the regular season. Ohtani has yet to appear in a playoff game six years into his career thanks to Los Angeles’ long-lasting struggles, and he could opt to sign with a new team this winter as a result.
