Turns out, Shohei Ohtani was playing through more than just a partially dislocated shoulder in the World Series.
The Dodgers announced Tuesday that Ohtani also suffered a torn labrum when he injured his left shoulder sliding into second base in Game 2 . The slugger underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear, the team said, and “is expected to be ready” for spring training in February.
While the Dodgers managed to defeat the New York Yankees in five games to win their second championship in five seasons last week, they had to do it with Ohtani playing through pain over the final three games.
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In Game 2, Ohtani jammed his left arm in the ground while sliding into second on an unsuccessful stolen-base attempt. And while he started each of the subsequent three games — at the time, the team publicly described Ohtani’s injury as only a shoulder subluxation — he went just one for 11 the rest of the way.
During those final three games, Ohtani was seen wincing multiple times after swings, and he held his left arm to his chest while running the bases.
The good news for the Dodgers is that Ohtani’s injury was not to his throwing shoulder. Ohtani is expected to join the Dodgers’ starting rotation next year after being limited to hitting this season while recovering from a 2023 revision to his Tommy John surgery.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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