Shohei Ohtani suffers from a shoulder subluxation

A heartbreaking moment for Dodgers fans occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning tonight when Shohei Ohtani tried to steal second base. Ohtani was subbed out by the Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres however, appeared to sustain an injury during the game and was escorted off the field by a team trainer. After the game, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic) that Ohtani had suffered a “minor” shoulder subluxation, or partial dislocation. The star will undergo further tests tomorrow, and although Roberts stressed that he did not want to speculate on the severity of the injury until those tests are complete, he noted that they are “encouraged” by the initial tests and that he “expects” Ohtani “. to be back in the lineup for Game 3 on Monday.

This is potentially a devastating blow for the Dodgers as they seek their first full-season World Series championship since 1988. Even though Ohtani has been unable to pitch this year following elbow surgery last September, it's impossible to call his first season for the club anything but an unmitigated success. The 30-year-old superstar hit a stunning .310/.390/.646 (181 wRC+) in 159 games for the Dodgers this year and became the first player in MLB history to steal at least 50 bases (59). Hit at least 50 home runs (54) in a single season. Ohtani's dynamic play has also been a key factor in the club's postseason run to this point, as he had hit an impressive .277/.414/.489 with three home runs and ten RBI in the playoffs this year coming into today's game entered.

Whether the Dodgers will have this explosive offensive talent for the rest of the series remains to be seen. While the severity of Ohtani's injury is not clear at this time, a serious injury will force him and the Dodgers to balance the star's health with their goal of completing a World Series championship, which they are just two wins away from are removed. Other players on the Dodgers roster, including a fellow star Freddie Freeman and experienced shortstop Miguel Rojashave overcome injuries this postseason in hopes of bringing a World Series to Los Angeles. If the Dodgers take a similar approach with Ohtani and his shoulder problem is relatively mild, one can imagine him being back in the club's lineup when the series moves to New York for Game 3 on Monday night.

However, that's far from a guarantee, and one can just as easily imagine that the problem is so severe that Ohtani is at risk of missing the rest of the series. If the injury proves serious enough for the Dodgers to cut Ohtani from their playoff roster, the outfielders will have to Kevin Kiermaier And James Outman seems like the most likely option the club could consider activating in place of their superstar on the playoff roster. Meanwhile, Ohtani clearing the DH spot in the lineup would allow the club to give additional rest to Freeman, who played through the postseason with a sprained ankle and could benefit from the extra time off. In such a scenario Max Muncy would likely slide over from third base to cover Freeman at first, opening up the hot corner for him Enrique Hernández and second base for Gavin Lux.

Of course, with just five months remaining until Opening Day 2025, a particularly serious injury could not only result in Ohtani being unavailable for the remainder of the World Series, but also potentially impact his spring training and preparation for the start of next year . Red Sox shortstop Trevor story underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in April after receiving an initial diagnosis similar to Ohtani's after Story landed awkwardly on his shoulder during a game on the field. Structural damage to his shoulder required surgery and initially took six months to recover, but Story managed to return ahead of schedule after just five months.

The Dodgers are well-versed in the dangers of dislocated shoulders, such as those experienced during the 2020 NLCS Cody Bellinger suffered a dislocated right shoulder, sustained during their final run in the World Series, but ultimately required surgery. This procedure required a recovery period of only ten weeks, but Bellinger struggled greatly over the next two seasons with the Dodgers, leading to questions about whether he could return to action before he was fully healthy. As serious as Ohtani's injury may be, one bright spot for the Dodgers is that Ohtani's left shoulder is affected, meaning his pitching arm will likely be minimally affected by the issue as he looks toward a return to the mound in 2025 hopes.