LOS ANGELES — It’s too quickly to panic, too quickly to type any opinion, actually. If the preliminary analysis the Los Angeles Dodgers provided on Shohei Ohtani proves right, he might very properly be within the lineup Monday night time for Recreation 3 of the World Collection at Yankee Stadium.
Nonetheless, the damage Ohtani suffered to his left shoulder Saturday night time solid a pall over Dodger Stadium, quieting the raucous crowd and creating an uneasiness not often skilled by a workforce main the Collection two video games to none.
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned Ohtani has a subluxation, a situation that happens when the ball on the prime of the higher arm bone comes out of the socket solely partially, versus fully, which occurs throughout a dislocation.
If that’s all that is, it won’t be a giant deal, notably short-term. Roberts mentioned Ohtani’s energy was nice, his vary of movement good. However he cautioned that the Dodgers won’t know extra till Ohtani undergoes an MRI. Savvy followers perceive that no analysis issues till the medical doctors examine the scans. And given the Dodgers’ historical past with accidents, nobody ought to assume Ohtani will likely be main off Monday night time at Yankee Stadium simply but.
The absence of Ohtani for even one recreation would diminish a collection constructed on stars, from the possible MVPs, Ohtani and Aaron Choose, to the celebrity proper fielders, Mookie Betts and Juan Soto, to a different possible Corridor of Famer, Freddie Freeman, and a possible one, Giancarlo Stanton. The Collection additionally options the 2 highest-paid pitchers in whole worth, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gerrit Cole. Yamamoto, making his World Collection debut Saturday night time, allowed just one hit in 6 1/3 innings, a homer by Soto.
Ohtani, although, is on the middle of all of it. He suffered his damage Saturday night time sliding into second base on an tried steal within the seventh inning, with the Dodgers main, 4-1. He was in apparent ache, rolling on the grime, then slowly attending to his ft earlier than an athletic coach helped him stroll off the sector, supporting his left arm.
Ohtani is gradual to stand up after he tried to steal 2nd. pic.twitter.com/T3Af5GRaiw
— FOX Sports activities: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 27, 2024
For a latest comparability, contemplate the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., who reportedly sustained not less than 4 subluxations in 2021. Tatis initially didn’t endure surgical procedure, believing his shoulder to be steady. However he reversed course in September 2022 whereas serving an 80-game suspension for utilizing a banned performance-enhancing substance. Medical doctors repaired the labrum in his left shoulder. Tatis recovered by the point he was reinstated in April 2023. And that season, he appeared in 141 video games.
May Ohtani finally meet the identical destiny? Maybe, if he endures repeated subluxations. Therapy for shoulder instability contains each non-operative and surgical choices, in accordance with Johns Hopkins Drugs. Ohtani, in fact, continues to be recovering from main surgical procedure on his proper elbow, with the expectation he’ll pitch once more in 2025. However even after stealing 59 bases this season as a full-time designated hitter, he virtually definitely will restrict his makes an attempt as soon as he returns to the mound, lowering the wear and tear and tear on his physique.
If Ohtani misses time throughout the Collection, the Dodgers can regulate by shifting Betts to the leadoff spot and making Freeman their DH. Max Muncy might transfer from third base to first and Kiké Hernández might play third. Roberts might spherical out his infield with some mixture of Gavin Lux, Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas, with Andy Pages enjoying middle on days Edman replaces Rojas at brief.
Not a nasty assortment of gamers, though Freeman is enjoying on a severely sprained proper ankle and Rojas would require sports activities hernia surgical procedure throughout the offseason. Ohtani was solely 1-for-8 within the first two video games of the Collection, his one hit a ringing double off Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle in Recreation 1. However clearly, he’s an important a part of the Dodgers’ offense.
After placing out 10 instances in 22 plate appearances within the Division Collection, Ohtani broke out within the Nationwide League Championship Collection, batting .364 with a 1.185 OPS. He has been an absolute terror within the postseason with runners in scoring place, going 15-for-22 in these conditions.
With or with out Ohtani, the Dodgers are in glorious place. The one approach they are going to lose the Collection is that if they drop 4 of the subsequent 5 video games — not out of the query with the Collection shifting to New York for Video games 3, 4 and 5 (if essential), however not all that possible, both. The Yankees have their very own issues, most notably the efficiency of possible MVP Aaron Choose, who’s batting .150 within the postseason with a .605 OPS and 19 strikeouts in 50 plate appearances.
The Dodgers being the Dodgers, they’d use any absence by Ohtani as a rallying level. Betts was out practically two months this season with a fractured left hand. Freeman was away for 10 days whereas his son Max, 3, handled Guillain-Barré syndrome, and later missed time with a damaged finger and his ankle downside. And lest we overlook, the Dodgers additionally positioned 12 beginning pitchers on the injured checklist.
Nobody ought to painting this workforce as an underdog, not when its estimated $325 million payroll was second solely to the New York Mets. The Dodgers leveraged their monetary may to construct extraordinary depth. So even whereas considerably depleted, their roster is robust sufficient for the membership to be inside two wins of its first World Collection title since 2020, and its first in a full season since 1988.
The persevering with presence of Ohtani would additional improve the Dodgers’ probabilities, and his return for Recreation 3 appeared fairly potential, not less than the way in which Roberts was speaking. By now, we’ve all realized that underestimating Ohtani is silly. Significantly, would anybody be stunned if he returned to hit the Collection-clinching homer, after which defied the Dodgers’ insistence that he won’t pitch once more this season by incomes the Collection-clinching save?
All proper, that’s a bit a lot to ask. Let’s simply hope Ohtani performs once more within the Collection. Any time he misses will diminish baseball’s largest spectacle in years. And as his previous accidents have proven, day-after-day he’s out is a lesser day for the game.
(Prime photograph of Shohei Ohtani exiting the sector in Recreation 2: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Occasions through Getty Photos)
