LOS ANGELES — It’s too early to panic and too early to offer any opinions. If the Los Angeles Dodgers’ initial diagnosis of Shohei Ohtani is accurate, it’s very likely that he will be in the lineup for Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
Still, the injury Ohtani suffered to his left shoulder Saturday night rocked Dodger Stadium, quieting a raucous crowd and creating a sense of anxiety rarely experienced by a team that had tied the series two games back.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani suffered a subluxation. A subluxation is a subluxation that occurs due to dislocation (when the ball of the top of the humerus only partially comes out of the socket rather than completely).
If that’s all it is, it might not be a big deal, especially in the short term. Roberts said Ohtani’s strength is great and his range of motion is good. But he cautioned that the Dodgers won’t know more until Ohtani gets an MRI. Savvy fans understand that the diagnosis isn’t significant until a doctor confirms the scan. And given the Dodgers’ injury history, no one should assume Ohtani will lead off Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
From Ohtani and Aaron Judge, who could be MVPs in Ohtani’s absence even for a single game, to superstar right fielders Mookie Betts and Juan Soto, to Freddie Freeman, another potential Hall of Famer, and potentially Giancarlo. It’s Stanton. The series also features the two highest-paid pitchers in terms of total value: Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gerrit Cole. Yamamoto, who made his World Series debut Saturday night, allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings, a home run by Soto.
But at the center of it all is Otani. He suffered the injury Saturday night when he slipped into second base on a stolen base attempt in the seventh inning with the Dodgers ahead 4-1. He was clearly in pain and rolled around on the dirt before slowly standing up. An athletic trainer helped him walk off the field by supporting his left arm.
Ohtani was slow to get up after attempting to steal second. pic.twitter.com/T3Af5GRaiw
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 27, 2024
For a recent comparison, consider the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., who reportedly suffered at least four subluxations in 2021. Tatis initially believed his shoulder was stable and did not undergo surgery. But he reversed his stance in September 2022 when he was handed an 80-game suspension for using banned performance-enhancing drugs. Doctors repaired the labrum of his left shoulder. Tatis had recovered by the time he returned in April 2023. And that season he played in 141 games.
Will Otani eventually meet the same fate? Perhaps if he survives repeated subluxations. Treatment of shoulder instability includes both non-surgical and surgical methods, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Ohtani, of course, is still recovering from major surgery on his right elbow and is expected to pitch again in 2025. But even after stealing 59 bases as a full-time designated hitter this season, he’s almost certain to limit his attempts to one. He returns to the mound to reduce wear and tear on his body.
If Ohtani misses time during the series, the Dodgers could make adjustments by moving Betts to leadoff and making Freeman the designated hitter. Max Muncy can move from third base to first base, and Kiké Hernández can move to third base. Roberts could round out the infield with a combination of Gavin Lux, Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas, with Andy Pages available to play center on days when Edman replaces Rojas at short notice.
It’s not a bad collection of players, despite Freeman playing with a high right ankle sprain and Rojas needing sports hernia surgery during the offseason. Ohtani went just 1-for-8 in the first two games of the series, with his one hit being a double off Yankees reliever Tommy Kanley in Game 1. But clearly he is an essential part of the Dodgers offense.
Ohtani, who struck out 10 in 22 at-bats in the Division Series, had a batting average of 0.364 and an OPS of 1.185 in the National League Championship Series. He was an absolute terror in the postseason, going 15-for-22 with runners in scoring position.
With or without Ohtani, the Dodgers are in a good position. The only way they will lose the series is if they drop four of the next five games. It would make sense for the series to travel to New York for Games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary), but that’s not at all likely. . The Yankees have their own issues, most notably the performance of MVP prospect Aaron Judge, who is batting .150 with a .605 OPS and 19 strikeouts in 50 plate appearances in the postseason.
The Dodgers, being the Dodgers, will use Ohtani’s absence as a rallying point. Betts missed nearly two months this season with a fractured left hand. Freeman was away for 10 days while his son Max, 3, was dealing with Guillain-Barré syndrome and later missed time with a broken finger and ankle problems. And let’s not forget that the Dodgers also placed 12 starting pitchers on the injured list.
No one should portray this team as an underdog. The same goes for their annual salary of about $325 million, second only to the New York Mets. The Dodgers have leveraged their financial power to build tremendous depth. So, despite being somewhat depleted, their roster is strong enough to get the club two wins away from its first World Series win since 2020 and its first full-season win since 1988.
Ohtani’s continued presence should further boost the Dodgers’ chances, and his return for Game 3 seemed quite possible, at least the way Roberts talked about it. Now we’ve learned that it would be foolish to underestimate Ohtani. Seriously, who would be surprised if he came back to hit a series-clinching home run and then get the series-clinching save, thereby defying the Dodgers’ insistence that he not pitch again this season?
Okay, that’s a lot to ask. I hope Ohtani plays again in the series. Every time he misses, baseball’s biggest spectacle in years will be diminished. And as his past injuries show, every day he’s out is a lesser day in the sport.
(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani leaving the field in Game 2: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
