The 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees starts Friday, Oct. 25. As always, there’s plenty of anticipation and questions leading up to the Fall Classic. One of the big questions is whether or not Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani will return to being the two-way sensation he has previously been.
While that still seems unlikely, the Yankees are prepared.
“I haven’t given much thought to that, but if that’s the case, we’ll be ready for everything,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters Tuesday.
As a reminder, Ohtani hasn’t pitched since Aug. 23, 2023. He underwent surgery on his pitching elbow less than a month later. At the time, his surgeon said it was to “repair the issue at hand and to reinforce the healthy ligament in place while adding viable tissue for the longevity of the elbow.”
He has been rehabbing his throwing arm throughout the course of the season. He’s been throwing off a mound for weeks and late in the regular season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts caused everyone to perk up here when he said there’s a possibility Ohtani could pitch in the playoffs.
Almost immediately, various Dodgers executives threw cold water on the idea, and Roberts himself shut down speculation during the NLCS.
“He is not,” Roberts said when asked if Ohtani was available to pitch in either Game 6 of Game 7. “Thanks for asking.”
Now, there’s a multi-day break between the NLCS and the World Series, and Game 7 of the World Series wouldn’t be until Nov. 2. Might the Dodgers make Ohtani available to pitch late in the series, even just for one inning?
It seems possible. It also seems like the Dodgers won’t tell anyone that’s the case until we see him warming up in the bullpen. It’s certainly something to ponder, even if only to dream on how fun it would be.
