expected to try taking dry swings (going through the motion of a swing without a ball involved) then progress to hitting off a tee and taking batting practice as he usually does in the cage (not on the field).

He was at Yankee Stadium for the Dodgers’ workout Sunday night but did not come out on the field.

“I think that he’s obviously very well aware of himself and his body,” Roberts said. “So if he feels good enough to go (after that workout), then I see no reason why he wouldn’t be in there.”

Roberts said Ohtani would not be allowed to play if there is a possibility of injuring himself further by playing. He compared it to Freddie Freeman who has played on a severely sprained ankle.

“I think honestly it’s just per his tolerance. That’s just what it is,” Roberts said. “So I guess you could put it in the Freddie bucket. Guys have had this before and played. But again, it’s just everyone’s tolerance.”

Cody Bellinger, then with the Dodgers, suffered a dislocated right shoulder while celebrating a home run in Game 7 of the 2020 National League Championship Series. He continued to play but went just 3 for 22 (although with one home run) in the six-game World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

“Very similar, just a different shoulder,” Roberts said. “I would argue that the right shoulder is more compromising to the swing for a left-handed hitter than the left shoulder.”

Bellinger eventually had surgery to tighten the shoulder joint. In his case, though, the 2020 injury was one of multiple times he had dislocated his shoulder. Ohtani’s injury is believed to be his first involving a shoulder dislocation (or partial in this case).

Ohtani has gone 1 for 8 with a double in the first two games of the World Series and is batting .260 (13 for 50) with three home runs and 12 walks in his first postseason.

“That doesn’t concern me,” Roberts said of the possibility Ohtani would not be playing at full strength if he returns to the lineup. “If he is able to play, willing to play, he’s going to play. (Yankees Game 3 starter Clarke) Schmidt will know that Shohei’s in the box, so that means everything.”