Dodgers GM Says LA Will Be Cautious With Bringing Shohei Ohtani Back From Injury
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced last week that designated hitter Shohei Ohtani underwent surgery for a torn labrum he sustained during the World Series against the New York Yankees. Ohtani injured his shoulder while attempting to steal second base during Game 2 of the World Series. He played through the injury during the rest of the World Series, and underwent the surgery afterwards.
Ohtani is expected to be ready for the start of spring training in 2025, and Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said that they are “looking forward to him being fully healthy in 2025.”
“We’ll get into his rehab some and see where things are at,” Gomes said, via MLB.com. “As he gets going, we’ll obviously err on the side of caution and be playing the long game here. The long term prognosis is that it won’t be anything that affects his pitching.”
Gomes also recalled seeing the injury take place late during Game 2 of the World Series.
“We didn’t know what it was,” Gomes recalled. “We were up watching the game in the box and obviously he was in serious pain. We went down following that to see what our doctors were saying and we had an intense ninth inning going on simultaneously … there was nothing that was going to stop Shohei from continuing in that series.”
Ohtani remains on track to return to both pitching and hitting in 2025, even after the surgery. Ohtani did not pitch during the 2024 season after undergoing surgery for a torn UCL in 2023. He instead played as a designated hitter in 2024, with the plan for him to resume pitching in 2025. When he last pitched in 2023, Ohtani went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA.
Even as only a designated hitter, Ohtani was phenomenal during the 2024 season. He recorded a career-high and franchise record in home runs, and became the first player in MLB history with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Ohtani helped the Dodgers return to the World Series for the first time since 2020, and defeat the Yankees for the franchise’s eighth title.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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