The Los Angeles Angels said Friday that Shohei Ohtani has gone on the disabled list with an injury to his right pitching elbow.
The club said Ohtani was placed on the 10-day DL with a grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament, which reportedly indicates there is a partial tear in the ligament.
The 23-year-old underwent a PRP — platelet-rich plasma — and stem cell injection on Thursday and will be re-evaluated in three weeks for a course of care to be determined, it added. He did not joining the team for its three-game series against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis that began on Friday.
New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka needed more than a month to recover after undergoing a PRP injection in 2014.
Ohtani, who is listed on the All-Star ballot as a designated hitter, will likely not return to the mound for the first half of the season, and may miss July's All-Star Game as well.
Ohtani started on Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals but exited after the fourth inning, citing a blister on his right middle finger. Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Ohtani complained of stiffness in his elbow after his blister was drained and underwent an MRI.
Eppler said that he hopes Ohtani will avoid Tommy John surgery, which requires more than a year for recovery, without denying its possibility.
"We're hopeful that he can (avoid the surgery). This is completely treatable with the biologic prescription that the doctors recommended," Eppler said, according to mlb.com.