MLB Insider: Why the Dodgers are well-positioned to overcome any potential Shohei Ohtani absence

LOS ANGELES— The moment that Shohei Ohtani jammed his left shoulder into second base, and writhed in pain on the infield dirt, you could hear a pin drop inside Dodger Stadium. 

Ohtani is the most irreplaceable player in baseball. Despite recovering from elbow surgery, Ohtani mashed 54 home runs this season. He’s hit a career-high.310/.390/.646 with a 1.036 OPS and 130 RBI. On a team filled with superstars, he has shined above them all, and losing Ohtani for any time — let alone in the World Series — would be a devastating blow.

Ohtani, 30, has a “little” subluxation of his left shoulder, manager Dave Roberts said. He will undergo more tests on Sunday, but the early signs after initial strength tests have given the Dodgers optimism that Ohtani may not miss much time.

“There’s something about this team where guys are going to find a way to show up,” Enrique Hernandez said. “We played some games without Freddie in the lineup and we’ve won those games. We’re hoping that we don’t play any games without Sho, but if we do, we’ll find someone to step up for him.”

The Dodgers are uniquely positioned to overcome any potential absence for Ohtani. Just look back to when he was a free agent. He and his agent, Nez Balelo, communicated to teams that his top priority was to win and that he was open to “unprecedented” deferrals. His deal with the Dodgers – a 10-year, $700 million contract — included $680 million in deferrals ($2 million salary in each season) to allow president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to continue bolstering the roster in free agency.

“When he presented that structure it was, ‘Hey, would this allow you guys to be more aggressive?’” Friedmann recalled. “Yeah, definitely. So it did.”

Shohei Ohtani allowed Dodgers roster to be built to withstand his injury

After signing Ohtani, the Dodgers acquired and extended Tyler Glasnow to a $111.5 million contract. They signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract. They signed Teoscar Hernandez to a one-year, $23.5 million contract. They later went on to sign free agents Jason Heyward and Joe Kelly, among others, both of whom contributed at various points throughout the regular season. And that paired them with a roster that already included Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy and others.

But the roster maneuvering did not stop there. At the trade deadline, the Dodgers acquired Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech in a three-team trade with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox. With less than an hour until the deadline, Friedman acquired Jack Flaherty in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.

All three players have emerged as key components since being acquired. Edman has been one of the Dodgers’ best hitters, hitting 17-for-48 with one home run and 12 RBI this postseason. Kopech recorded a 1.13 ERA in 24 innings during the regular season and has allowed only one run in six innings this postseason. Flaherty, meanwhile, has dominated on the biggest stages for the Dodgers this postseason.

Replacing Ohtani with one player is impossible. But with how the Dodgers’ roster was constructed, and how Ohtani’s contract was structured, it’s put them in position to withstand any potential absence. But the Dodgers are hopeful that Ohtani won’t miss much, if any, time as the Dodgers lead the World Series 2-0 headed to New York.

“I’m expecting him to be there,” Roberts said. “I’m expecting him to be in the lineup.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto shines

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ other high-priced free-agent addition, dazzled in his first World Series start on Saturday. In 6.1 innings against the Yankees, Yamamoto allowed only one hit – a solo home run to Juan Soto - while striking out four in a 4-2 victory.

“He was lights out,” Hernandez said. “It was pretty similar to his outing against the Padres. He kept getting us back in the dugout. We struck first, then they tied it, and then we hit the two other homers. … But Yoshinobu, hats off to him. The bullpen did a great job as well. We’re in a good spot.”

After the game, Roberts was asked to compare this outing to Yamamoto’s outing against the Yankees in New York on June 7 where the right-hander threw seven shutout innings while allowing two hits and striking out seven. “I would say this start for me was probably a little bit better in the sense that we didn’t have to navigate (Juan) Soto back at Yankee Stadium either. Obviously on this stage, he was fantastic tonight.”