Shohei Ohtani injury comp suggests he could be in for a big Game 3

When Shohei Ohtani first started grabbing his shoulder after an unsuccessful stolen base attempt during Game 2, it was hard not to worry that his World Series might have come to an infuriatingly abrupt end. Ohtani seemed to be in real pain while coming off the field, and a separated shoulder feels like something that a hitter — especially one as violent as Ohtani, whose swing speed is among the fastest in baseball — might not be able to bounce back from. With just a few games at most remaining in the 2024 season, Ohtani didn't have much margin for error to return to the field.

Ah, but how foolish we were for assuming that Ohtani was a mere mortal. Since Game 2 wrapped, the news has been pretty much uniformly positive: Roberts said the team was "encouraged" by initial testing after the game, an MRI on Sunday came back clean and Ohtani was back and taking dry swings without pain just over 24 hours after suffering the injury in the first place.

At this point, it would be shocking if Ohtani weren't in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup for Game 3. And if Roberts' latest comments are a harbinger of things to come, he could be in for a big night.

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Dave Roberts gives more good news on Shohei Ohtani injury

When Roberts was asked about the exact nature of Ohtani's injury during media availability on Sunday, he made an interesting comparison that should have Dodgers' fans perking up their ears. Roberts likened Ohtani's shoulder separation to a similar injury that then-Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger suffered in Game 7 of the 2020 NLCS, when he got a bit too spicy while celebrating a big home run.

While we won't know exactly how Ohtani's feeling until we see him in the batter's box again, comparing him to Bellinger in 2020 is just one more good sign. Not only did Bellinger not miss a game, returning to the lineup for Game 1 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, but his shoulder was feeling good enough that he went yard again:

Again, no two injuries (or bodies) are the same, and it would be irresponsible to assume that Ohtani will be just fine 48 hours after separating his shoulder. But Roberts is in position to know the status of his superstar DH better than just about anyone, and if he's making this kind of comparison ahead of Game 3, it's safe to say that the New York Yankees will have to deal with Ohtani at or near full strength on Monday night.