Shohei Ohtani injury update: Dodgers star expected back in World Series lineup for Game 3 after shoulder scare

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to play in 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, manager Dave Roberts said Sunday.

While noting that he did not yet have the results of the imaging done on Ohtani’s shoulder, Roberts said of the slugger, “Today feels better than yesterday and our assumption is tomorrow is going to feel better than today.” 

“I don’t see him being compromised,” Roberts told reporters.

The next step for Ohtani will be to take part in a Sunday workout at Yankee Stadium that will include things like dry swings, tee work, and time in the batting cage. Roberts said how Ohtani responds to that work is “going to be telling” and that “if he is able to play, willing to play, he’s going to play.” 

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].”

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, but also that the team was “encouraged” by Ohtani’s range of motion and strength. 

“He had a little left shoulder subluxation, but everything — so we’re going to get some tests at some point tonight, tomorrow, and then we’ll know more in the next couple days,” Robert said Saturday. “But the strength was great. The range of motion good. So we’re encouraged. But obviously I can’t speculate because we don’t get the scans yet. So once we get the scans, we’ll know more. Again, with the strength, the range of motion good, that’s certainly a positive.”

Roberts later added, when asked if the Dodgers were equipped to play the rest of the World Series without Ohtani: “I’m expecting him to be there. I’m expecting him to be in the lineup.”

Ohtani’s spot in the lineup did not come up again, so he was never technically pulled from the game as the Dodgers held on for a 4-2 win that gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Ohtani left Dodger Stadium before talking to the media. Sunday will serve as a travel day before the teams reconvene on Monday in New York for Game 3.

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, the sport’s unique two-way star, has not pitched this season after undergoing elbow surgery on his throwing arm last fall. Ohtani is a right-handed thrower, meaning that this injury would not have any relation to that operation or his subsequent recovery. As it stands, he’s not expected to pitch again until the start of the 2025 campaign.