Angels officially place Shohei Ohtani on injured list ending his season prematurely

What might have been the greatest season in MLB history is now over. The Los Angeles Angels have placed Shohei Ohtani on the IL because of his sore oblique, ending his season prematurely. This notably comes after Ohtani had cleared his locker out on Friday prior to the Angels' loss against the Tigers.

The Angels superstar was expected to have his season ended early due to his torn UCL in which he will need a procedure to help recover from, but it's been unclear when that was going to happen. The oblique injury suffered in batting practice prior to the Angels game on September 4 against the Orioles has ended his season earlier than that.

Ever since the injury happened Phil Nevin had maintained that the injury was minor and Ohtani was day-to-day while wanting to play, but now with 14 games left in the regular season, Ohtani might have played his last game with the Angels.

LA Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani placed on the IL ending his season

Ohtani wrapped up what might have been his best season in the majors slashing .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs and 95 RBI. He led the league with his 44 long balls while also leading the league in triples, walks, OBP, total bases, and intentional walks. Of course, this is just the offensive side of things.

Shohei had his ups and downs on the mound this season, but had another terrific season overall pitching. He had a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts and 132 innings of work. He had 167 strikeouts in those innings and gave up just 85 hits. He was an all-star on the mound and an MVP candidate at the plate. Of course, when you combine the two, Ohtani has himself all alone as the lead candidate to take home his second AL MVP award in the last three seasons.

Now, Angels fans look ahead to free agency where Shohei Ohtani, for the first time since arriving in Anaheim, has the chance to put on another uniform. Considering the fact that the Angels are just two losses away from guaranteeing themselves their eighth straight losing season, the chances Ohtani remains an Angel are very much in doubt.

We'll find out more about this entire situation when Perry Minasian talks to the media sometime on Saturday afternoon