LOS ANGELES – It’s too quickly to panic, too quickly to type any opinion, actually. If the preliminary prognosis the Los Angeles Dodgers supplied on Shohei Ohtani proves appropriate, he might very effectively be within the lineup Monday night time for Sport 3 of the World Sequence at Yankee Stadium.
Nonetheless, the harm Ohtani suffered to his left shoulder Saturday night time forged a pall over Dodger Stadium, quieting the raucous crowd and creating an uneasiness not often skilled by a workforce main the Sequence two video games to none.
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned Ohtani has a subluxation, a situation that happens when the ball on the high 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 power was nice, his vary of movement good. However he cautioned that the Dodgers is not going to know extra till Ohtani undergoes an MRI. Savvy followers perceive that no prognosis issues till the docs test the scans. And given the Dodgers’ historical past with accidents, nobody ought to assume Ohtani might be main off Monday night time at Yankee Stadium simply but.
The absence of Ohtani for even one sport would diminish a sequence constructed on stars, from the probably MVPs, Ohtani and Aaron Choose, to the famous person proper fielders, Mookie Betts and Juan Soto, to a different probably Corridor of Famer, Freddie Freeman, and a possible one, Giancarlo Stanton. The Sequence additionally options the 2 highest-paid pitchers in whole worth, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gerrit Cole. Yamamoto, making his World Sequence 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 harm 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 filth, 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, think about the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., who reportedly sustained at the least 4 subluxations in 2021. Tatis initially didn’t bear surgical procedure, believing his shoulder to be secure. However he reversed course in September 2022 whereas serving an 80-game suspension for utilizing a banned performance-enhancing substance. Docs 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 ultimately meet the identical destiny? Maybe, if he endures repeated subluxations. Therapy for shoulder instability consists of each non-operative and surgical choices, in line with Johns Hopkins Medication. Ohtani, after all, remains 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 nearly definitely will restrict his makes an attempt as soon as he returns to the mound, decreasing the damage and tear on his physique.
If Ohtani misses time in the course of the Sequence, 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 quick.
Not a foul assortment of gamers, though Freeman is enjoying on a severely sprained proper ankle and Rojas would require sports activities hernia surgical procedure in the course of the offseason. Ohtani was solely 1-for-8 within the first two video games of the Sequence, his one hit a ringing double off Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle in Sport 1. However clearly, he’s a vital a part of the Dodgers’ offense.
After placing out 10 occasions in 22 plate appearances within the Division Sequence, Ohtani broke out within the Nationwide League Championship Sequence, batting .364 with a 1.185 OPS. With runners in scoring place he has been an absolute terror within the postseason, going 15-for-22 in these conditions.
With or with out Ohtani, the Dodgers are in wonderful place. The one approach they may lose the Sequence is that if they drop 4 of the following 5 video games – not out of the query with the Sequence shifting to New York for Video games 3, 4 and 5 (if vital), however not all that probably, both. The Yankees have their very own issues, most notably the efficiency of probably 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 almost 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 listing.
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 powerful sufficient for the membership to be inside two wins of its first World Sequence title since 2020, and its first in a full season since 1988.
The persevering with presence of Ohtani would additional improve the Dodgers’ possibilities, and his return for Sport 3 appeared fairly potential, at the least the way in which Roberts was speaking. By now, we’ve all realized that underestimating Ohtani is silly. Significantly, would anybody be shocked if he returned to hit the Sequence-clinching homer, after which defied the Dodgers’ insistence that he is not going to pitch once more this season by incomes the Sequence-clinching save?
All proper, that’s a bit a lot to ask. Let’s simply hope Ohtani performs once more within the Sequence. Any time he misses will diminish baseball’s largest spectacle in years. And as his previous accidents have proven, every single day he’s out is a lesser day for the game.
(Prime picture of Shohei Ohtani exiting the sector in Sport 2: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Instances by way of Getty Photos)