The Los Angeles Angels’ top talent, Shohei Ohtani, had to miss the team photo because of a sоre oblique.

The Angels avoided this problem by using a deft substitute for the missing MVP frontrunner.

Every baseball team looks forward to picture day, but when your star player can’t make it due to an emerge𝚗cy, you need to get creative.

The Angels’ remarkable two-way talent, Shohei Ohtani, missed the photo day because he was still being tested for oblique strain.

The Angels made the decision to keep Ohtani’s memory alive in a humorous and lighthearted way.

The team’s body double was disguised as a man they described as “very tall in the front office, nаme not to be used.”

Ohtani put on the famous No. 17 jersey and stepped into the outfield lineup. This not-so-hidden substitute livened up an otherwise mundane event.

The fake Ohtani’s brief appearance on the field was quickly documented and shared online by reporters at the stadium.

The mysteriоus stand-in, however, silently left through an outfield tunnel as the team photo session completed.

When asked why Ohtani wasn’t in the shot, manager Phil Nevin said, “Shohei will be in the photo when you see it.” This was an allusion to the fact that the Japanese pitcher’s visage will be digitally superimposed onto the photo.

The Angels’ 2023 regular season was full of ups and downs.

The team’s 64-74 record reflects the difficulties and setbacks they’ve experienced.

The Angels have been struggling mightily as of late, losing their previous four games leading up to Tuesday night and only winning once in their previous eight contests.

The extraordinary versatility and performance of Shohei Ohtani has been a major influence in the highs and lows of this season.

Ohtani, a soon-to-be free agent, has been spectacular in his role. Despite being sidelined from pitching since August with a partially torn UCL, he has maintained his impressive hitting performance. Ohtani’s batting line of.304/.412/654 is quite good, and he should be considered for his second American League MVP award.

The future of Ohtani’s Angels career is still up in the air. His representative, Naz Balelo, has mentioned surgery on his elbow and a potential comeback to two-way play.

Despite setbacks and doubts, the Angels have fully embraced their star player’s exceptional abilities.

They are confident in Ohtani’s impact on the team, as seen by their choice to go all-in this season rather than pursuing trades or value extraction.

They made some notable trades at the deadline, acquiring Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox, but as the playoffs grew further out of reach, they waived several players to reduce payroll and avoid paying the luxury tax.

With only 23 games left in the regular season, the Angels are presently fourth in the AL West division, 12 games back from a Wild Card place.