Inside The Dodgers

Dodgers Reveal Shohei Ohtani Had Major Surgery After World Series

Maren Angus-Coombs

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Dodgers revealed Tuesday afternoon that there was more to Shohei Ohtani's injured shoulder.

The team's designated hitter successfully underwent arthroscopic surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, to repair a labrum tear caused by a left shoulder dislocation on Oct. 26.

Ohtani is expected to be ready for spring training.

After the play in Game 2 of the World Series, Ohtani was briefly down on the ground and left the field in the seventh inning with a trainer, his arm hanging limply after he slid to evade a tag from Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres.

Typically, a shoulder subluxation almost always results in some form of labrum tear. If the tear was mild, he could return in just a few days, which would be considered quite fortunate. It is also what happened.

"If he had a minor subluxation in his left shoulder and bats left, he should be OK," award-winning orthopedic surgeon Rob Landsberg told Dodgers Nation during the World Series. "A lot depends on how much damage there was. Apparently, he felt the shoulder go out of place and go back into place."

Landsberg emphasized multiple times that the specific injury Ohtani incurred always results in some type of tear even if the Dodgers didn't want the public to know.

"We really need to see the MRI to see how bad of a labral tear there is," Landsberg said at the time. "Also, sometimes there is a bone injury as well."

Ohtani has now officially undergone surgery, and will spend the beginning of the offseason rehabbing. Ohtani is expected to return as a two-way player in 2025, but it remains to be seen how this new injury impacts his workload ahead of spring training.

Ohtani is coming off a 2024 season in which he hit 54 home runs, drove in 130 RBIs, and had 59 stolen bases. He's expected to return to the mound in 2025 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL after the 2023 season, his final with the Los Angeles Angels.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State and has been a sports writer since 2008. Despite growing up in the South, her sports obsession has always been in Los Angeles. She is currently a staff writer at the LA Sports Report Network.

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