Shohei Otani, 25, a Japanese baseball genius, will be on the operating table for two consecutive years.
"At the
beginning of the season, Otani will have surgery on his left knee on the 14th. It will take eight to 12 weeks to recover," ML said on Tuesday.
Otani underwent surgery to connect his right elbow ligament in October last year and underwent knee surgery this year, failing to avoid surgery for two consecutive years.
According to MLB.com, an average person has only one knee slit while Otani is uniquely divided into two, making his knee relatively vulnerable to injury.
Otani, nicknamed "Edo-ryu" for his good pitching skills, has stood out as both a pitcher and a batter since he entered the Major League last year. He pitched in 10 games as a pitcher in 2018, recording four wins and two losses with a 3.31 ERA. He appeared in 104 games and batted .285 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs. The 2018 American League Rookie of the Year was also naturally up to Otani.
Otani, who returned from surgery on his right elbow in October last year, only played as a hitter this season. He didn't stop practicing pitchers even though he was playing as a hitter. In 2019, he continued his rehabilitation with a plan to combine pitcher and batter again.
Otani's batting average this year was .286 with 18 homers and 62 RBIs in 106 games. He showed off his batting talent to his heart's content even though he didn't play many games.
Otani plans to continue to work as a pitcher and hitter even after undergoing knee surgery.