Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder injury in the 2024 World Series was apparently a little worse than the Los Angeles Dodgers let on.
The Dodgers announced on Tuesday, coincidentally coinciding with Election Day, that their superstar had undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder as a result of his bad slide in Game 2 against the New York Yankees. He will reportedly be ready for spring training.
Shohei Ohtani underwent successful arthroscopic surgery today in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, to repair a labral tear resulting from a left shoulder dislocation on October 26. He is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 5, 2024
This will be the second year in a row that Ohtani has undergone major surgery, as he required an internal brace to repair a torn UCL in his pitcher’s arm late last season. He spent all of 2024 rehabbing that elbow while also hitting for the Dodgers.
Ohtani suffered the injury by landing hard on his left arm during the seventh inning. He was in obvious pain and was escorted off the field by trainers, who Japanese speakers believe said the shoulder popped out.
It was a scene that stunned a previously jubilant Dodger Stadium, but the Dodgers indicated after the game that the injury was only a minor subluxation. Two days later, he was in the lineup for Game 3.
However, Ohtani struggled to make hard contact for the rest of the series, and that makes a little more sense now. He went a combined 1-for-14 without extra base hits in Games 3, 4 and 5 after hitting .260/.403/.460 in his first 13 career postseason games.
It was very clear that Ohtani was still suffering from some kind of discomfort, as he ran clumsily while holding his collar with his left hand when he had to run to the bases.
That World Series appearance was a quiet end to one of the best seasons in MLB history. Despite his troubles, Ohtani will still leave 2024 with his first ring, a presumptive third MVP trophy and the first 50-50 season in MLB history, all after joining the Dodgers for a record-breaking 10-year $700 million deal.
Ohtani wasn’t the only Dodger to play through pain during the postseason, as it was also recently revealed that World Series MVP Freddie Freeman was playing through broken rib cartilage, in addition to a sprained ankle and residual pain from a broken finger in August.
Despite two stars hampered by injuries and perhaps the most injury-plagued pitching staff in baseball, the Dodgers still put away the Yankees in five games for their eighth title in franchise history, with some help from the Yankees themselves.
The closest precedent for Ohtani’s injury is an ominous one for the Dodgers, when Cody Bellinger tore his right labrum while celebrating a home run during the Dodgers’ World Series run in 2020. He underwent surgery at 17 November and was ready for the Dodgers’ Opening Day. next season, but his production fell off a cliff after that and he ultimately went undrafted after the 2022 season.
However, it’s worth noting that Bellinger injured the main forearm of his batting stance, while Ohtani’s injury was in the other shoulder. The bigger issue for the Dodgers could be whether this injury impacts Ohtani’s UCL rehab at all, as he is expected to return to pitching in 2025.
