Ohtani forced to DL with elbow injury

Shohei Ohtani will be placed on the disabled list with a sprained elbow ligament, potentially derailing the Los Angeles Angels twoway sensation’s remarkable rookie season.

Angels general manager Billy Eppler announced the injury Friday before his club opened a road trip in Minnesota. The Angels are unsure about the severity of Ohtani’s injury, but the Japanese righthander and designated hitter won’t throw another ball before doctors re-evaluate him in three weeks.

Ohtani left his last pitching start after four innings Wednesday due to the re-occurrence of a blister. Eppler said that’s when the Angels got their first indication Ohtani’s elbow ligament might be distressed: “As the game adrenaline wore off, he said, ‘My elbow is getting a little stiff.’”

Ohtani, who will turn 24 years old next month, underwent injections of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells Thursday in Los Angeles.

The Angels said Ohtani’s ulnar collateral ligament has a Grade 2 sprain, which typically indicates some degree of damage, but not a complete tear. Ohtani’s injury doesn’t always require surgery, while Grade 3 sprains are usually repaired by Tommy John surgery.

Ohtani is 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA in his debut North American season, getting 61 strikeouts with a mix of 100-mph fastballs and precipitous breaking pitches — including a splitter, a pitch that typically puts significant stress on the elbow.

Ohtani also is batting .289 with six homers and 20 RBIs as baseball’s most successful two-way player in decades.

Eppler acknowledged that if Ohtani was only a hitter, he “probably” would be able to keep playing.

Mets: Swooning New York took two more hits to their already banged-up pitch- ing staff when closer Jeurys Familia was put on the disabled list because of a sore right shoulder and ace Noah Syndergaard was scratched from a weekend start against the Yankees because of a strained ligament in his right index finger.

Padres: Pitcher Jose Torres, 24, arrested in December on charges that stemmed from a domestic violence incident involving his wife, was suspended by Major League Baseball for the rest of the season.