The Angels took an L before even taking the field on Tuesday.
As reported by The Athletic’s Sam Blum, it was picture day on Tuesday, but star player Shohei Ohtani was apparently unavailable.
The Angels were undeterred, however.
“[T]hey used a body double, and will presumably photoshop him in,” Blum tweeted.
“He was taken through a back exit by Angels PR.”
It has been a season of follies for the Angels, who are 64-74 heading into Tuesday night.
With Ohtani headed into free agency, the Angels opted to go for it this season instead of trying to extract value for the superstar either last offseason or before the trade deadline.
The Angels doubled down at the trade deadline, trading the second- and third-best prospects in their system — Edgar Quero and Ky Bush — to the White Sox for starter Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez.
Then, at the end of August, they waived four players, including Giolito and Lopez, in an attempt to get under the luxury tax threshold.
Last month, Ohtani was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his pitching arm, and his pitching status for next season is murky as he enters a much-hyped free agency.
“Shohei’s gonna be fine,” his agent Naz Balelo told reporters on Monday, according to ESPN. “Is he gonna pitch the rest of the year? No. We already know that. Is he gonna get into next year? We don’t know yet. So just bear with me on that.
“But I do know this — no matter what timetable we’re dealing with and when we get this done, Shohei’s gonna be in somebody’s lineup next year, DHing when the bell rings. We know that. We’re not gonna push that. He’s gonna be good to go.”
Ohtani is hitting .304/.412/.654 as he looks to win his second American League MVP.
