Dodgers' latest Shohei Ohtani injury update is inexplicable and legacy-building

All the energy was sucked out of Dodger Stadium midway through LA's World Series Game 2 victory on Saturday night when Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani ended up in a pained heap after a failed stolen base attempt. Was it the wrist? The shoulder? Regardless of the diagnosis, it seemed quite likely that Ohtani would be either compromised or absent for the remainder of this clash of the titans.

Apparently, though, some left shoulder subluxations are worse than others.

Following the 4-2 Dodgers victory, manager Dave Roberts noted that Ohtani's range of motion hinted at positive results, but that he'd stay behind for further testing out of precaution. At the very least, Game 3 appeared to be in doubt for the slugger -- especially given LA's not-insurmountable-but-not-insignificant 2-0 lead in the series.

Well ... so much for that, as Roberts told ESPN's Karl Ravech on Sunday afternoon that Ohtani plans on playing pain-free on Monday night in the Bronx. Turns out all this particular injury is going to do is build his hero's narrative.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani likely to play in World Series Game 3 vs. Yankees after shoulder injury

We all knew that Ohtani would do all he could to play each and every game of this World Series, but if "in a great spot" is anything other than posturing, this man really might be a cyborg. Objectively, it appeared that Ohtani had done serious damage to his shoulder by sliding headfirst into second base awkwardly. Somehow, the partial dislocation doesn't appear to have affected him much, if at all.

Stay tuned for Ohtani's early batting practice tomorrow to get a better idea of his comfort level, and expect the Yankees to bust him inside with cutters, if they have any intention at all of making him uncomfortable.

As Ken Rosenthal noted on Sunday morning, though, this is a star-studded World Series that may already be decided, but it would be a big loss for baseball if Ohtani ended up being only a half-participant. Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam might've silenced the opposition, but if Ohtani has anything to say about it, there'll be plenty of dramatic moments left before this series concludes.