LOS ANGELES – It’s too quickly to panic, too quickly to type any opinion, actually. If the preliminary prognosis the Los Angeles Dodgers provided on Shohei Ohtani proves appropriate, he may very nicely be within the lineup Monday night time for Recreation 3 of the World Sequence at Yankee Stadium.
Nonetheless, the damage Ohtani suffered to his left shoulder Saturday night time forged a pall over Dodger Stadium, quieting the raucous crowd and creating an uneasiness hardly ever skilled by a staff 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 prime of the higher arm bone comes out of the socket solely partially, versus utterly, which occurs throughout a dislocation.
If that’s all that is, it may not be a giant deal, significantly 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 prognosis issues till the medical doctors verify 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 sequence constructed on stars, from the seemingly MVPs, Ohtani and Aaron Choose, to the celebrity proper fielders, Mookie Betts and Juan Soto, to a different seemingly Corridor of Famer, Freddie Freeman, and a possible one, Giancarlo Stanton. The Sequence additionally options the 2 highest-paid pitchers in complete 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 heart 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 toes earlier than an athletic coach helped him stroll off the sector, supporting his left arm.
Ohtani is sluggish 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. 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.
Would possibly 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 keeping with Johns Hopkins Medication. Ohtani, in fact, 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 virtually actually 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 Sequence, the Dodgers can modify by transferring Betts to the leadoff spot and making Freeman their DH. Max Muncy may transfer from third base to first and Kiké Hernández may play third. Roberts may spherical out his infield with some mixture of Gavin Lux, Tommy Edman and Miguel Rojas, with Andy Pages enjoying heart on days Edman replaces Rojas at quick.
Not a foul assortment of gamers, despite the fact that 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 Sequence, 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 putting 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 means they are going to lose the Sequence is that if they drop 4 of the subsequent 5 video games – not out of the query with the Sequence shifting to New York for Video games 3, 4 and 5 (if obligatory), however not all that seemingly, both. The Yankees have their very own issues, most notably the efficiency of seemingly 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 might 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 neglect, the Dodgers additionally positioned 12 beginning pitchers on the injured record.
Nobody ought to painting this staff 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 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 Recreation 3 appeared fairly attainable, not less than the best way Roberts was speaking. By now, we’ve all discovered that underestimating Ohtani is silly. Critically, would anybody be stunned if he returned to hit the Sequence-clinching homer, after which defied the Dodgers’ insistence that he won’t 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.
(High photograph of Shohei Ohtani exiting the sector in Recreation 2: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Occasions through Getty Photos)
