Outside The Confines: Ohtani oh no!

We’ve got a ton of Shohei Ohtani stories today, but please check out some of the stories on players who don’t play two ways. The Randy Arozarena story is really good, for example.

• Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will not pitch again this season. Ohtani and the Angels are waiting to get a second opinion before they proceed, but this is the same injury that caused him to have Tommy John surgery in 2018.
• However, Ohtani insists that he will continue to play as a designated hitter this season.
• Jeff Passan writes that Ohtani’s historic season has been cut short by injury, and his future is certainly in question. But he also says don’t bet against Ohtani.
• Emma Baccellieri writes that despite the injury, Ohtani remains a superhuman talent.
• Andy McCullough disagrees. He writes that despite Ohtani redefining what a baseball player could accomplish. (The Athletic sub. req.) he eventually ran into the limits of what a human body could accomplish.
• Will Leitch has six thoughts about Ohtani’s injury.
• Matt Snyder has five questions about Ohtani’s future.
• Zach Crizer looks at what this injury means for Ohtani and his upcoming free agency.
• Dayn Perry looks at what Ohtani’s playing options are going forward. Meaning—does he continue to pitch, does he move to the bullpen, etc.
• Andy McCullough notes that the Angels went all-in at the trade deadline and it all fell apart in three weeks. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Jay Jaffe notes that the injuries to Ohtani and Mike Trout (who went back on the IL after one game) is a “double gut punch” for the Angels.
• Matt Snyder writes that this is the “worst-case scenario” for the Angels.
• Mark Feinsand asks MLB executives what this means for Ohani’s free agency.
• Buster Olney speculates on how the market for Ohtani might have changed this winter. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Ken Rosenthal writes injury or no injury, Ohtani is still worth $500 million. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Does the injury to Ohtani mean someone else might win American League MVP Award?
• A former superstar has called it quits. Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg plans to retire because of injuries.
• Emma Baccellieri writes that Strasburg should be judged by the great career he did have, not the career he might have had if he stayed healthy.
• Matt Snyder agrees. Despite his injury history, we should remember Strasburg’s greatness.
• Andrew Simon has a list of players who were headed to Cooperstown if they hadn’t gotten injured.
• Some more fallout from the “shakeup” on the South Side. Keith Law writes that it doesn’t matter who is running the White Sox as long as Jerry Reinsdorf owns the team (The Athletic sub. req.) not much will change.
• To make that point, Bob Nightengale is reporting that Reinsdorf is planning to promote assistant GM Chris Getz to the top job with former Royals GM Dayton Moore in the front office in some capacity. Nightengale also has more details on why Reinsdorf decided to fire team president Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn.
• Ken Rosenthal reports that if Reinsdorf was willing to look outside the organization, the White Sox job would be a very attractive one to potential candidates. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Does this look right to any of you?

It very much looks like the standings during World War II in Stars and Stripes that were printed upside down “for long-suffering Philadelphia fans.” It is pretty much exactly the opposite of what we’ve come to expect out of the AL East.

• Anyway, Gabe Lacques takes a look at an AL East turned upside down. The last time neither the first or second place team in the AL East was either the Yankees or Red Sox was 1992 — when there were still seven teams in the division.
• Under-fire Yankees GM Brian Cashman has called this season “a disaster.”
• Dan Szymborski examines the state of the Yankees and concludes that it’s probably time to undergo a “rebuild.” Which is not something the Yankees ever do, of course, but they probably should.
• The Mariners have gotten red-hot lately and as Mike Lupica notes, Seattle is a surprising candidate to win the AL West right now.
• David Schoenfield has what every MLB contender needs to do right now (ESPN+ sub. req.) You know what the Cubs’ need right now—better starting pitching.
• Zach Crizer looks at the Giants starting pitching strategy which is Logan Webb and Alex Cobb and pray that a bunch of bullpen arms and tandem starters can handle the next three days. It’s not as catchy as Spahn and Sain and pray for rain, but it’s a different era.
• This is not a surprise to any Cubs fan, but Jay Jaffe writes that Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson is starting to live up to the earlier hype.
• Alex Eisert tries to figure out if the Marlins are winning so many close games out of anything other than dumb luck.
• And Ben Clemens tries to figure out if there is a secret to driving in a higher percentage of baserunners. He eventually concludes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
• Athletics owner John Fisher says that he’s put in the application with MLB to move the team to Las Vegas and takes a few shots at Oakland on the way out the door.
• The Mets will retire the numbers of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry next season.
• Nationals outfielder Stone Garrett suffered a broken leg when his leg got caught in the padding at Yankee Stadium.
• Hannah Keyser explains why the Astros keep Martin Maldonado on the roster, despite all the metrics saying he’s the worst catcher in the majors. It’s not out of the goodness of their hearts, obviously.
• The Guardians will name their bleachers after the late John Adams, the man who played the drum in the bleachers for almost 50 years.
• Rustin Dodd and C. Trent Rosecrans have the inside story of the movie The Sandlot (The Athletic sub. req.) on its 30th anniversary.
• Matt Monagan has what you want to know about Victus, the company that made the wacky “pencil bat” and other wacky bats that have gone viral.
• Josh Levin explains the 1996 Pinnacle Foil Bob Hamelin baseball card — the worst baseball card of all-time.
• And finally, I know I gave you a lot of links today, but you should read this piece by Roberto José Andrade Franco on Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena and his journey from Cuba to Mexico and to major league stardom.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.