A heart-stopping second occurred for Dodgers followers within the backside of the seventh inning tonight when Shohei Ohtani tried to steal second base. Ohtani was tagged out by Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres however appeared to endure an damage on the play and was escorted off the sphere by a crew coach. After the sport, supervisor Dave Roberts advised reporters (together with The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that Ohtani had suffered a “little” shoulder subluxation, or partial dislocation. The star will endure moreover testing tomorrow, and although Roberts emphasised that he didn’t wish to speculate on the severity of the damage till these checks have been accomplished, he famous that they’re “inspired” by preliminary checks and that he’s “anticipating” Ohtani to be again within the lineup for Recreation 3 on Monday.
It’s a doubtlessly devastating blow to the Dodgers as they appear to seize their first full-season World Sequence championship since 1988. Whereas Ohtani has been unable to pitch this yr after present process elbow surgical procedure final September, it’s inconceivable to name his first season with the membership something apart from an absolute success. The 30-year-old celebrity slashed an eye-popping .310/.390/.646 (181 wRC+) in 159 video games for the Dodgers this yr and have become the primary participant in MLB historical past to steal a minimum of 50 bases (59) and hit a minimum of 50 residence runs (54) in a single season. Ohtani’s dynamic play has additionally been a key issue within the membership’s postseason run thus far, as he had slashed a powerful .277/.414/.489 with three residence runs and ten RBI through the playoffs this yr coming into tonight’s sport.
Whether or not the Dodgers may have that explosive offensive expertise within the lineup for the rest of the sequence stays to be seen. Whereas the severity of Ohtani’s damage is just not at the moment clear, an damage of any significance will go away he and the Dodgers pressured to steadiness the star’s well being with their objective of closing out a World Sequence championship they’re simply two victories away from clinching. Different gamers on the Dodgers’ roster, together with fellow star Freddie Freeman and veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas, have performed by means of accidents this postseason in hopes of bringing a World Sequence residence to Los Angeles. If the Dodgers take an analogous plan of action with Ohtani and his shoulder challenge is pretty delicate, it’s potential to think about him being again within the membership’s lineup when the sequence strikes to New York for Recreation 3 on Monday night time.
That’s removed from a assure, nonetheless, and it’s equally straightforward to think about the problem being extreme sufficient to depart Ohtani vulnerable to lacking the remainder of the sequence. If the damage proves to be extreme sufficient for the Dodgers to take away Ohtani from their playoff roster, outfielders Kevin Kiermaier and James Outman would look like the probably choices for the membership to contemplate activating instead of their celebrity on the playoff roster. In the meantime, Ohtani vacating the DH spot within the lineup would permit the membership to supply extra relaxation to Freeman, who has performed by means of the postseason on a sprained ankle and may benefit from the extra break day his ft. In such a state of affairs, Max Muncy would seemingly slide over from third base to cowl first for Freeman, opening up the new nook for Enrique Hernandez and second base for Gavin Lux.
After all, with simply 5 months left to Opening Day 2025, a very extreme damage couldn’t solely go away Ohtani unavailable for the rest of the World Sequence however doubtlessly impression his Spring Coaching and readiness for the beginning of subsequent yr. Pink Sox shortstop Trevor Story underwent what was believed to be season-ending shoulder surgical procedure again in April following an preliminary analysis just like Ohtani’s after Story awkwardly landed on his shoulder throughout a play within the discipline. Surgical procedure wound up being crucial on account of structural harm in his shoulder and got here with an preliminary six-month restoration timeline, although Story managed to return forward of schedule in simply 5.
The Dodgers are fairly acquainted with the perils of dislocated shoulders, as through the 2020 NLCS Cody Bellinger suffered a dislocated proper shoulder that he performed by means of of their final World Sequence run however in the end required surgical procedure on. That process got here with a restoration timeline of simply ten weeks however Bellinger infamously struggled badly over his subsequent two seasons with the Dodgers, resulting in questions concerning whether or not or not he returned to motion earlier than he was absolutely wholesome. Nonetheless extreme Ohtani’s damage seems to be, one silver lining for the Dodgers is that Ohtani’s left shoulder is the one at challenge, that means his pitching arm is more likely to be minimally impacted by the problem as he appears to be like towards a return to the mound in 2025.