Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was in the starting lineup for Monday's Game 3 of the World Series despite suffering a partially dislocated shoulder in his team's Game 2 win over the New York Yankees.
Following the Game 3 Dodgers win, giving them a 3-0 lead in the World Series, Ohtani said that he expects to avoid surgery.
"I haven't had further conversations about the future plan," he said through an interpreter. "I think it's something that's going to happen after the season is over, do additional testing. But in terms of how I feel now, I don't think so."
Ohtani got on base Monday by leading off the game with a four-pitch walk and then stayed on the base clutching his arm to his chest. After the game, he said he was "holding on to myself when I was running ... to make sure that I wouldn't use that same shoulder arm if I were to slide."
He ended up going 0 for 3 with a walk and hit by pitch.
"I don't see him being compromised," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday. On Monday, Roberts added that tests showed no structural damage in Ohtani's shoulder.
Ohtani underwent an MRI on his left shoulder after getting hurt on a stolen-base attempt during the bottom of the seventh inning of World Series Game 2 on Saturday. Roberts after the game told reporters Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder.
One possible concern is that if Ohtani plays through pain and some level of structural instability in his shoulder he might wind up making the injury worse. "Once we make the decision that he can play," Roberts said when asked of such concerns, "I would assume that there isn't a possibility [that he makes it worse]."
Here's a look at the play as Ohtani was injured while making a feet-first slide into second base:
Ohtani, 30, is the favorite to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award after an historic season that saw him become the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit more than 50 home runs and steal more than 50 bases in the same season. Overall, he batted .310/.390/.646 (190 OPS+) with 54 home runs, 130 runs batted in, and 59 stolen bases (on 63 attempts). His contributions were worth an estimated 9.2 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference's calculations.
Ohtani is a right-handed pitcher, meaning that this left shoulder injury should not have any impact on his subsequent throwing recovery. As it stands, he's not expected to pitch again until the start of the 2025 campaign.