Another Shohei Ohtani offseason surgery is enough to make Dodgers fans sweat

When the Los Angeles Dodgers handed out a mega-deal to two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani last offseason, keeping in the City of Angels but with a change of color and from American to National League, they knew that the two-way part of Ohtani's appeal would have to wait at least year as he recovered from major elbow surgery that would keep him off the mound. Of course, it still looked worth the money even without Ohtani pitching.

The Dodgers went on to win the World Series, their first since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, and Ohtani put forth an unprecedented dominant season at the plate. The likely AL MVP had a 1.036 OPS on the season while hitting 54 home runs with 130 RBI and stealing an absurd 59 bases.

So yeah, the fact that he can add being one of the league's most dominant pitchers to that arsenal makes it well worth it. However, the latest updated out of the MLB's GM meetings this week do give at least one reason for Dodgers fans to sweat.

Shohei Ohtani undergoing surgery for torn labrum after Dodgers World Series win

According to FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, Ohtani underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and will spend his second offseason with the Dodgers recovering from that surgery. Though LA expects him to be back by spring training, that's probably not the update fans were hoping for.

Fans surely remember the moment when Ohtani suffered the injury as he left Game 2 of the World Series in pain, dislocating his shoulder while sliding into second base. He returned and played through the next three games but now is dealing with repairing the damage he suffered in that moment.

Again, this isn't a doom and gloom situation for Ohtani and the Dodgers. The number of remedial surgeries that we see players undergo in order to be at full health following a 162-game season on top of the playoffs makes the rigors these bodies endure quite extensive and worth getting the medical attention they need.

Having said that, considering that Ohtani is signed for the next decade-plus with the Dodgers, seeing him spend the first two offseasons with the club recovering from surgery is not what any fan would ideally want in such a situation. You want him healthy, enjoying time with his family and dog, and then coming back to be baseball's most unique and dominant star.

He can certainly still be that coming off of this surgery. However, it's definitely enough to take a look at the Dodgers star and pray that this isn't the start of a trend, especially after his addition helped pave the way to a World Series in year one.